


Doing Things the Hard (& Hot) Way

by BreeBear_Bonanza



Category: Skip Beat!
Genre: Angst, Bad Decisions, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Good intentions lead to bad actions, Moderately Slow Build, Shameless, Slow Burn, Somebody slap them please, Tsuruga Ren's temper, angry parental figures, meddling president, naive Main Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-15
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2018-11-14 11:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 12
Words: 46,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11206722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BreeBear_Bonanza/pseuds/BreeBear_Bonanza
Summary: One of these days Kyoko and Ren will think things through before they do them. Kyoko will one day be careful of the things she asks of Ren and says in his presence, Ren will one day remember to never underestimate the depravity of Takarada Lory when he is trying to set him up with Kyoko. Unfortunately today wasn't that day, and they are both going to suffer for it.





	1. Maybe We Should Have Thought About This Harder

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic that anyone is reading the others I just wrote for the heck of it, so sorry if its rather rough around the edges.
> 
> Oh and I am currently in the middle of a year-long study abroad so I may be a little sporadic about uploading, sorry in advance.

One day, Kyoko promised herself, she would remember that asking Tsuruga-san for help could get away from her very quickly. Especially when she had no idea why he was so mad when she asked what she should do to prep for this scene.

 

24 Hours Ago

“Kyoko this part is for the leading lady, however you need to read the WHOLE script before you agree,” Sawara-san made sure to emphasize that point. He wouldn’t have even shown it to her at all if the president didn’t call and order him to, it’s a good bet Ren is getting the same script since that schemer is involved. “So, I can give you till tomorrow to read through this and decide, please remember that if you feel like you can’t or won’t perform any part of this it is perfectly fine to refuse the part.” He could already tell that that wasn’t likely to happen, the character was so very much one she would love that he didn’t think she would read more than the first chapter before demanding to have the part.

Kyoko wasn’t sure why Sawara-san kept acting like he thought she shouldn’t take the part, normally when he didn’t think it would be a clever idea he said so… ‘I wonder if he is feeling alright’ was the first thought to occur to her about his strange behavior. Well I don’t have anything else happening today so why don’t I just find a comfortable place in the LoveMe section to sit down and read this. 

 

16 Hours Ago

I have no idea why Sawara-san kept telling me not to take this part! I love it already, I HAVE to play this princess!!!! She immediately got up to tell Sawara she accepted the roll and ask for a meeting to be set up to go over the contract. However, while Sawara-san was under orders to show her the part, no one said he couldn’t be absolutely sure she knew what she was getting into.

“What is are the names of the main love interest and the main rival?” He asked with raised eyebrows and a condescending tone.

Kyoko froze, “Sawara-san did you forget already she asked? That doesn’t seem like you.” She hoped the deflection would work, but that question may mean she came here too quickly.

“So, I take it you didn’t actually read the whole thing as instructed but found out that the character was a fairytale type princess and then skipped right back here? I am surprised at you Kyoko, what would Tsuruga-san say about such unprofessionalism?” Hah, that should deflate her interest a bit! Everyone knows she fears his disapproval and scorn more than anything else, I can guarantee she won’t try to bluff me again now.

“I didn’t… I wouldn’t… I am so sorry I will go finish reading this at home, goodnight.” Kyoko ran away embarrassed and ashamed, hopefully he really didn’t tell Tsuruga-san that she didn’t even finish the script before accepting!

 

12 Hours Ago

“Ren, I am sure you’re tired after our busy day but the president wants to meet with us no matter how late you finish. I tried to get him to at least reschedule for the morning but… you know how he is.” Sighed Yashiro-san, he really wished the president would listen when he said something wasn’t good for Ren. What was the point in instructing him to always look out for Ren’s best interests if he never listened to what those were.

“That sounds like more trouble…*sigh* let’s go see what terrible idea is going to turn our lives upside down now.” Ren could only hope that for the first time in a long time it wouldn’t be about Kyoko, not that he really believed it wouldn’t be. The car ride back to the office was filled with Yashiro trying to make small talk so he could relieve some of the tension that was creeping into Ren with every meter closer to the office and the eccentric man who ran it. They arrived very quickly but it seemed to take forever for Ren who kept imagining worse and worse ploys that would be thrown at him by his madman of a father figure.  
…….....  
“Ren! Perfect! Just the man I want to see, sit down I have a fantastic opportunity for you.” The president said with far too big a glint in his eye for it to be anything but scheming. He saw Ren’s eyes narrow as he started to storm across the room instead of walk, he stifled a sigh so he wouldn’t confirm the suspicions already thrown his way.

“Hello Takarada-san, lovely evening, isn’t it?” Ren used his best ‘gentlemen’s smile’ on him, knowing that both he and Kyoko know that the brighter the smile the angrier he was. After maybe for seconds pause he decided he was too tired for this nonsense, he didn’t have time for these games. His temper bubbled over almost immediately, though he thought it was Takarada-san’s own fault for making him come here after an 18-hour day. “Let’s all forgo the silly games, shall we? We all know you’re up to more nonsense, and I will have little to no say in it as deciding whether or not to participate so just spit it out so I can go home and sleep!” Ren hadn’t grumped at anyone like that in a while, which felt both good and bad even if he wasn’t sure what was on what side of the equation.

*sigh*He guessed it was too much to ask for Ren to at least pretend he was going to really listen to the offer, and yes it was an offer even if Ren didn’t take it that way. “I just want to offer you a part in an upcoming drama, the director selected you and one other person as the leads without auditions. As long as you accept it’s yours. The same goes for your counterpart, who already has a copy to read over” He said while handing Ren the script, though he knew better than to let him know that Kyoko was the counterpart even if he had to suspect it.

“Why couldn’t this wait till tomorrow morning? What are you up to now?! You wouldn’t have me come here at close to 1am just to hand me a script.” Ren wasn’t stupid, even if he felt it from time to time around the president, but he was pretty sure everyone did.

“I made you come now because they want an answer by 5pm tomorrow. Since you have the day all but off tomorrow you need to read that to see if you accept or not. They want you as a pair since they think it will give off a good feel, but they will accept just one of you.” He took a leap for one more push. “I know this isn’t the sort of story you are interested in, and if Dark Moon has shown us anything it’s that certain kind of love stories are beyond you. You barely managed to find it last time. I told them as much but well, they insisted they wanted you for the part.” Hmm, let’s see if a very sleepy Ren would slip and let Kuon answer instead he thought with an inner smirk.

“Like hell I can’t play it! I am absolutely capable of any love story and I am not so poor an actor that I will only act in things that have stories I would like personally! I just need to feel that it’s a good script, not that I love it or that I must be in it. A real actor takes parts in all kinds of stories as long as the story would move audiences.” ... Ren didn’t snap back to himself and realize his mistake till he had already taken the script, dropped off Yashiro and was almost home. He started fuming as soon as he got home. “Damn it! He managed to pull an angry and competitive Kuon out of the cracks in my mask. This must be even worse than I thought if he was willing to try and bring him to the surface.” Ren realized he was talking out loud, embarrassed regardless of the fact he was alone he shut up and got ready for bed. He would decide what to do tomorrow.

6 Hours Ago

Kyoko realized the more she read that there was a very good reason for Sawara-san to tell her she needed to read the whole script, this drama had a very sexy vibe the more she read. ‘Can I even pull something like this off? I have only ever kissed Corn, and he doesn’t really count… I mean sure the Emperor of the Night makes an appearance every now and then around Tsuruga-san, but it is still so far past anything I have done or seen I don’t think I could manage it. But if I turn it down just because I don’t have experience I will disappoint the Director who asked for me and Tsuruga-san with my lack of professionalism.’ “Hmmm, I better call Moko-san.” She slipped back into the habit of talking to herself as she tried to decide what to do. 

“Moshi-Moshi, Kanae here” was the polite but short answer that greeted Kyoko almost as soon as the phone rang on the other end.

“Mokooooo-san HELP!!!! …and why did you answer that way, didn’t you know it’s me? Oh my god did you delete my number? Do you hate me now? WHYYYYY???????” The stress of the last day all poured out on Kanae as soon as she answered here phone, Kyoko forgot that if Kanae was mad at her she would definitely hear about it… in detail, with lots of venom and snark.

“Stop yelling in my ear idiot, and then I can answer. I was still holding the phone from a business call, so I didn’t check the number, I just assumed they forgot something. I’m also assuming that you needed something besides the opportunity to annoy me, so what happened now?” Kanae swore if they weren’t friends she probably would have killed her by now just to get her to stop screaming in her ear over the phone all the time.

“Sorry Moko-san! I was already sort of freaking out so when it seemed like you didn’t know it was me it just sort of happened. …um can I still ask you a question or should I call back later, I didn’t realize that you are probably busy. Never mind, sorry to bother you.” Kyoko started to apologize faster and faster as she went, quickly talking herself out of talking to Moko at all.

“If you hang up on me I am going to ignore your calls from now on!” Huffed Kanae indignantly, she knew exactly where this was headed.

“I would never hang up on You, Moko! If you really aren’t busy though I need some advice before I decide, but I don’t really feel comfortable enough with anyone else to ask them about this.” Kyoko answered in a surprisingly candid and quiet manner, which was Kanae’s first clue something was really off. Especially since she said she didn’t have anyone else to ask and Kanae knew Ren was always her first choice for advice, unless it was about Ren finally.

“So, are you going to confess to Tsuruga-san then? Because I don’t have much experience with that but I bet between you, Hio and I we could manage something.” Kanae figured it was about time this happened, even a blind man could see they were crazy about on another.

“OH MY GOD!!!! Moko!!!! Don’t say such crazy and unrealistic things!!! He would hate me if he found out, and someone could overhear you and then tell him…. Oh god just don’t say it please!” Kyoko whined and pleaded in her normal candid manner but something about her voice was off and clued Kanae into the fact that this was related to romance and Ren just not like she hoped.

“Ok, out with it! What is happening that you are freaking out about so bad that you thought me answering the phone meant we aren’t friends anymore?” Kanae would never understand her best friend’s thought process and logic but that didn’t mean she didn’t love her… oh god did she just think that? Ugg, I should not answer the phone so soon after I am done acting this character’s scenes, it makes me way to mushy and sentimental.

“Well there is a part that a director requested me for in a new drama and I would be the leading lady, the story is the kind I love and the character would be my favorite I was ever offered… The problem is how the plot progresses” Kyoko started to explain the whole problem to Kanae feeling positive she wouldn’t steer her wrong.

2 Hours Ago

Ren finished reading the script certain he could do these scenes, they would be a combination of scenes and feelings he had used in and since Dark Moon. But this made him even more certain that the president was up to something, this would be something he knew he could do. The problem is now that he read it he wanted to do it, not because he was ok with whatever plot was happening or because he particularly liked the character or story. There was only one reason and he knew it was both the best a worst reason to put himself in the presidents powerplay but he couldn’t resist. This was a character Kyoko would fall in love with and a story line that would enchant her, she still has the same taste from childhood, fairytales are still her favorite things. He wanted to see the look of wonder and awe in her eyes as she watched, and if he was lucky he could get her to help him practice. He knew better than to expect her to help with the more adult scenes, mostly because he wouldn’t be able to resist taking advantage as he so often had as Cain Heel without even the block of being siblings to stop him this time.

“Oh, to hell with it. Yashiro-san, could you please tell the director to send the contract up here for me to check? I have decided to take the part.” Ren sounded oddly excited and resigned at the same time which was concerning for Yashiro-san. 

“Ren, you know he is up to something, right?” He had to ask and make sure he remembered that this was some kind of setup, he had that look on his face a minute ago that he gets when he is thinking about Kyoko.

“I am well aware, but the benefits out weight whatever shenanigans he may try to pull.” Ren said with a determined look on his face that let Yashiro know not to push anymore.

*sigh* “Ok Ren, let me call down really quick and see if they can bring the contract up here since we are already on in the building.” Yashiro trudged away to call and place his actor at the mercy of the president’s whims… again.

20 minutes later Ren had read the contract and signed it. The only slightly troubling part was the section where it said mild nudity might be required for the role, they typically know at the start if it is or isn’t. That smelled distinctly of the president but the rest was fine so he signed his name and had the contract couriered over to the director. He still had the foolish notion that he could handle whatever they threw at him, forgetting all the hard lessons that the past had taught him about underestimating the president’s obsession with his love life. Or maybe he just didn’t consider that this drama could have a very direct impact on his relationship with Kyoko and his ability to hide his feelings.

 

1 Hour Ago

“I did it Moko-san! I signed the contract just now, though Sawara-san seemed rather uncomfortable with it. I am guessing he read the script and doesn’t think I can do those kinds of scenes, but I will prove I can.” Kyoko had called Kanae the minute she finished signing and made it outside to head home. Since Kanae helped her make up her mind she felt she deserved to know what was happening.

“Well I am glad you decided and that you got the part but you still have one problem that you seem to have forgotten about.” Kanae felt sort of bad for immediately raining on her parade even though she helped convince her to try this part and take on the challenge of this role.

“What did I forget Moko? Do I have something else I already promised to do, or do you think that everyone will be disappointed to see me as Kagome-hime?” Kyoko sounded more confused than panicked this time which was good in some ways but confirmed to Kanae that she had forgotten her original concern that made her consider passing on the part.

“Kyoko, you forgot the most important thing it seems… You don’t have any experience dating, much less being passionately in love. How in the world are you going to do sex scenes in a room full of people when you wouldn’t even consider my suggestion to watch porn earlier?” Kanae was baffled.


	2. Sometimes We Take All the Right Advice in the Wrong Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoko and Ren both make quick decisions for their parts, however they still have no idea what they are in for. If only Moko could just not be quite so helpful this time... who am I kidding, Kyoko would have headed into trouble even without Moko's advice. This way she just got there a little quicker than normal, since she didn't debate it all for days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this chapter is a little off and very short, I am running on next to no sleep from 3 consecutive late nights followed by early mornings. However I am caught up on my school work now so things should settle down, which means I will have full mental capacity to write the next one.
> 
> Also sorry this took a little longer than I planned but my midterm essays took longer than I thought they would. School work here in Japan has a deceptively simple explanation and look, but then it sucker punches you... and I'm rambling. It's after 3am so I am gonna wrap this up.
> 
> Thank you again for reading this, it means a lot that people are reading and enjoying the crazy things that happen in my head. I hope you all enjoy the wind-up to chaos. ;)

50 Minutes Ago

“Look if you are that worried about it Kyoko then you need to get some kind of help. Either watch porn or dirty romantic movies… I don’t know, hell ask another actor what you should do.” Kanae can’t believe that Kyoko accepted without remembering that she has absolutely no experience with anything even remotely sexy.

While that was mostly true Kanae had never been told of all the times that Kyoko has butted up against the ‘Emperor of the Night’ when she sets Tsuruga-san off. Not to mention the things that the heel siblings got up to that would make even Kanae blush and choke on her words. However, Kyoko does her best not to think about any of those experiences, she has enough trouble keeping the box closed and doesn’t want to help it open more. She is completely ignoring what is happening in the back of her mind as the sensual part of herself beats against her conscious block of it to remind her of all the hot things she has done, and imagined since those moments occurred.

“Kyoko are you listening to me?!? Why am I on the phone with you if you don’t care what I have to say, sheesh just talk to your Ren doll instead. I don’t have enough free time to waste being ignored by my supposed best friend.” Kanae knows it’s a low blow and a little over the top but she had tried four times to get Kyoko to answer her, she only has so much patience for being ignored. Day dreams can be had after she gets off the phone with me. Then it hits her she better pull the phone away from her ear!

“I’M SO SORRY MOKO-SAAAAAANNNN!!!!!!!!!!! I am the world’s WORST friend, but please don’t hate me! You’re my best friend, I can’t handle if you hate me! I won’t EVER ignore you again, I PROMISE!!!” Kyoko screams into the phone off and on in a blind panic, yet again missing the fact that she is being manipulated. Usually that level of manipulation and guilt-tripping comes from Tsuruga-san since she rarely pushes Moko-san that far.

“Ok, Ok. I am not that mad at you, I just don’t want to be ignored when you called me. Sheesh.” Kanae is definitely glad she got the phone away from her ear in time, it was still loud enough it hurt and the co-stars and staff on set all turned to see what was happening. Most of them had worked with either Ren, Kanae or Kyoko before so they understood at least vaguely what was happening and where just curious for details. The others could see the understanding on everyone else’s faces and started to quietly ask what was happening. Ah, the gossip network of stars and staffers made the media look like kindergarteners. 

“Ok so tell me if I’m wrong but you still don’t have any experience, and we both know there is no way you can rent anything too explicit from a store at our age. Plus, the chances of you asking for some of the reference materials kept at the office is probably less than zero since you would have to ask for it, sign and then receive it and then bring it back when you were done. Everyone would know you had watched it if you brought it back so you wouldn’t be able to handle that, ne?” Kanae knows that it is a little cruel to rub it in that Kyoko has no ability to ask for or get the things she needs between her personality and age, but feels that it needs to be said now to nip any silly ideas in the bud. God knows that they were growing fast even as Kanae spoke.

“Oh no, are you saying I should try to get a date or something? Because we both know that isn’t happening since I swore to Tsuruga-san to keep myself pure. Maybe I could just ask… oh wait, none of my friends have experience either. I don’t have anyone to ask… What do I DO Moko-san?!?” Kyoko is starting to realize just how much of a problem she has willingly signed up for, especially since that little sensual voice fought out far enough to be heard. ‘You know you could easily seduce a man you want to help you figure out more of this, we did just fine before’ the little voice taunts her with the resurfacing knowledge. ‘Yeah but Onii-san is special, I don’t want some looser to touch me. Onii-san would be hurt and it wouldn’t be as good anyways’ Setsuka chimed in since she was the one technically with the most experience to draw from. Luckily this inner monologue happened in a few seconds, so they pause of stunned silence from Kanae kept Kyoko from ignoring her again.

“Ok, I know I did not just hear you say that you don’t have a friend with any experience. One you call Kuu Hizuri, Otou-san and you spend more time with Tsuruga-san than anyone else besides Yashiro-san.” Kanae knows that Kyoko can be deliberately thick sometimes, but this seems like one of those moments where she is blocking out options with all her might to save her sanity.

“Oh no! I could never ask Otou-san about… that! It wouldn’t be proper, plus it would honestly be kind of embarrassing. He treats me like one of his children when he is here, could you ask you dad about that stuff?!?” Kyoko knows her voice got a little shrill at the end but she can’t help it, it’s just weird and embarrassing to even think about talking to Otou-san about THAT.

“Ok, I have to admit that it could be awkward to ask your father figure about sex and fore-play but still. I feel like you deliberately ignored the second option I mentioned, we both know he always helps to prepare for hard roles. I don’t see why you couldn’t at least get advice on this over the phone.” Kanae knows that they like each other, the same way she knows that if Kyoko asks anyone besides himself or Kuu, Ren may well lose it when he finds out. And it would be a when because Kyoko can never keep a secret from Ren. He knows her too well, and pays too much attention to miss the guilt that would be riding her.

“Oh my god, NO! Moko-san you can’t even think it! What would he say, he never thinks I can play a mature adult lady anyways? If he finds out I accepted before figuring out how I would get the knowledge I need for it he would HATE ME!” Kyoko wails by the end of it as she has already started to believe he does instead of that he might.

“Ok, ok, calm down! If you think he will be mad that you accepted before you learned anything or figured out where to get the info you need then just don’t mention why you need to know. Problem solved.” Kanae feels a little mean to set Kyoko up like this, but she firmly believes that Ren won’t hurt her willingly. He loves her too much for that, even she can tell. Though she might need to text Yashiro-san that there may be a development but to keep it from Ren, that way if something goes wrong she will have an adult’s help. It sucks not being 20 yet.

“Oh, do you think that would work? Just ask without telling him what project it’s for? I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks, Moko-san, I am going to see if he has any free time today. Bye!” Kyoko feels much better now that she is armed with Moko-san’s plan, so much so that she forgot and hung up on Moko. That is going to require groveling later, though she doesn’t know yet that Kanae is too worried to be mad.

Oh no, what have I done? Kanae can’t quite believe how quickly that got out of hand, but she knows she needs to act fast! She starts typing out a message to Yashiro-san before she has a conscious thought to do so. “SOS a Kyoko BOMB is about to hit Ren! Be ready for cleanup, this is going to get messy. I don’t think he will be able to work for the rest of the day so I pray you don’t have anything else happening after you let them meet.” It would feel overly dramatic but she knows there is far more to Ren than his gentlemanly persona would suggest, she sees it in his eyes sometimes when something goes haywire with Kyoko.

45 Minutes Ago

Yashiro noticed a text as he got out of Ren’s car but didn’t check it. “Ok, I will let you relax for the rest of the day since you are off till tomorrow at 9am. So, I will see you back here at 8:15? Try to avoid worrying about the President’s schemes, we know they are unfathomable and unavoidable so just ignore it for now. I will see you tomorrow, but feel free to call if you need to same as always.” Yashiro notices that Ren’s phone buzzed right around the time he mentioned the president, and now Ren is looking at it with a big smile on his face. Must be Kyoko, she is the only one who ever gets that smile even if she hasn’t noticed that yet. He just goes ahead and shuts the door knowing that Ren will want privacy to talk to her, especially since he prefers to call her rather than text just so he can hear her voice.

Ren notices that Yashiro was closing the door with a smile on his face but he just can’t break away long enough to reply to him. Her texts are always a little formal to him, but he will just enjoy the fact she is finally texting him with real conversations instead of just asking if he was too busy for a call. Its too cute of a message, he goes ahead and saves it as he rereads it.

‘Dear Tsuruga-san,  
I hope that I am not bothering you, however  
I would like to ask if you have any time free  
today. I have a problem that I need help  
with and you were the only person I am  
willing to ask about it. Please let me know  
when it is convenient as I am free all day.

Ugh, if she gets any cuter he feels like Kuon will make a full appearance to try and win her. That would be bad considering Kuon really has no tack or romanticism which will be needed to eventually seduce her. ‘Never mind, don’t think about it’ he scolds himself, knowing that down that road lies ruin.

Mogami-san  
I am free all the rest of today, so any time  
that you can make it to my apartment  
will work for me. If you need me to come  
get you please let me know, I would be  
happy to.

Not the most thrilling or riveting answer but that is the sort of answer that is safe enough for her, but still has an undertone of caring that will appease himself.

10 Minutes Ago

Kyoko still can’t believe her good luck! He has a day off at the same time as her, she can’t even think of the last time that happened.

Dear Tsuruga-san  
I am off the subway and heading to  
your apartment now. I should be   
there in about 3 minutes.

5 Minutes Ago

“Hello Mogami-san, come on in.” Ren is happy to see her but can already tell she is nervous, that could either end very badly for him or very well for him depending. There is only one way to find out though.

“Hello Tsuruga-san, I hope you don’t mind the intrusion. I am so glad you had time to help me out, I am sorry I need your help again but you were the only one I could think to ask for this.” Kyoko is doing her best not to blush, mumble, or fidget. She is sure she isn’t mumbling or fidgeting but is fairly certain that she is blushing at least a little.

“Not to worry Mogami-san. Let’s sit down on the couch and you can tell me what problem has brought you here.” Ren is hoping that this is going in a good direction, because that blush is starting to affect his thought process. Then again that may be the blood flow trying to change directions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliff hanger but I promise it will be worth it. I wanted to make sure that It didn't feel too long even with me going into details of what they are both thinking and every nuance of fucked up that will result from the inevitable misunderstanding. I cant remember the last time they didn't have a misunderstanding with one another at the worst times... or in the next chapters case, the best times.


	3. If You Think About How Your Words Sound You Would Be Shocked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The misunderstandings are normal for our almost couple, but the level things escalate to has hit a new high... or maybe a new low. Reacting instead of thinking, is surprisingly enough (*cough* sarcasm *cough*) a fantastic way to communicate effectively. One day they will think things through before they do them, but it seems like that wont be for quite some time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter came out very quick, but inspiration struck the other day and I have been writing every spare moment since. This weekend I need to catch up on my video editing for another project, but hopefully I can still write some. I should have a new chapter in a week or 2, but I make no promises. :/ Schedules are my lifeblood for school, but just kill me in creative things.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this chapter and the continued chaos.

**_4 Minutes Ago_ **

 

              “Well I have a problem that I can’t solve on my own, because I don’t want to disappoint him.” Kyoko doesn’t notice the way Ren twitches when she starts talking about disappointing a man because she is staring at her hands in her lap like they hold the answers she seeks if she just looks hard enough. Honestly, she just can’t look Tsuruga-san in the face while she talks about something so embarrassing.

 

              ‘Calm down Kuon, she is probably talking about the president or Taisho. When was the last time she did anything for a man besides me seeking approval?’ He can feel Kuon already fighting to take over, he is going to need to be careful. Kuon would ruin all his hard work getting her to trust him and be comfortable with him talking about almost anything, which she won’t do if he loses it now. “Mogami-san I am not sure I understand what you are asking, could you give me some details of what you need?” He tries to ask as gently as possible but seeing her flinch tells him she has noticed his mask slipping. “I am not upset Mogami-san just not sure how to help when I don’t understand. It can be frustrating.” He hurriedly assures her, watching as she relaxes and takes a deep breath.

 

              ‘Here goes nothing,’ she thinks before she just spits it out. “Well I am not very good with romance or… um the other parts of relationships… the more physical parts, so I thought I should learn ahead of time so I don’t cause problems.” She sees his face freeze and assumes he finds her presumptuous to assume he would help her with such a thing. “I wouldn’t normally ask but I am so excited about this that I really want it go well, but I understand if you don’t want to help.” She quickly assures him, but she notices his eyes get even darker and realizes she is making him mad. “Never mind Tsuruga-san, it was rude to assume you would help me with this just because you have helped me before. I will let you go back to your day off.” She quickly stands and bows, turning to hurry back to the door before she finds out how angry he really is. She doesn’t make it far.

 

              _Backtrack a bit, this is Ren’s thought process and perspective. The perspective will keep switching back and forth so it might be confusing, sorry._

_‘_ All I can Focus on now is the ever-repeating phrase of “the more physical parts” of a relationship. The roaring in my ears makes it hard to hear her.’ Ren thinks to himself in shock. ‘Just grab her and show her, she wanted our help might as well show her why we are better.’ Kuon is full force in his thoughts and he doesn’t even care anymore. He tries to force himself back to focus. He tunes back in and it seems like he didn’t miss too much. ‘Why is she telling me she wouldn’t typically ask? I don’t want to know that she is excited for him! What the hell have I been waiting for if she is just going to rush into his arms now?!?’ He can tell he is starting to destroy his gentleman’s mask himself and can’t find it in him to care. ‘I kept saying that we just needed to make a move but you and your goody-goody Ren persona have lost her to us unless we use force! Now you must decide, do we push our luck or stick around as a friend and watch her love HIM instead?’ Kuon is beyond pissed and not really willing to stay quiet but Ren has been in control for so long the chances of breaking through completely is low. ‘Fine we make a move, she wants us to teach her. Let’s make sure she can never think of anyone but me during those moments in the future. I won’t force her, but I will try to sway her with everything I have.’ Ren decides just as Kyoko starts to apologize. Kuon is willing to try it this way, he doesn’t want to hurt Kyoko either no matter how angry he is. The two halves of his personality mix together in a way they haven’t since Cain Heel, and this time he doesn’t have to pretend she is family. As she starts to turn away his mind and body come to an agreement and he starts something he can never take back. He grabs her wrist and yanks her back to the couch. She lands just perfect and he quickly lowers his upper body over her to pin her in, knowing she isn’t willing to shove him away.

 

_Back to Kyoko, from the end of Ren’s for just a second. This is where the first chapter started with her trouble._

              She isn’t sure how this happened, but she can tell she is in big trouble. He is in full Emperor of the Night mode, but he still has anger in his eyes that is so strong it hurts to see. ‘I don’t know why he is so mad to help with this, he could have said no. I would never force him to touch me even though it obviously repulses him.’ Kyoko can’t imagine that the way she said things threw Ren into a jealous rage, nor that he wants to touch her more than anything else. However, she is right that the Emperor is out in full force and about to rock her world, if he gets that far.

 

_Back to Ren for a while, since he is driving everything we will start with him and double back for her reactions in a bit._

              “Ok Kyoko, what do you want me to teach you first?” Ren can see the fear and confusion in her eyes, but can’t make himself stop. “How about adult kisses? I know you haven’t had a deep kiss yet, would you even know what to do for that?” He watches her gulp strongly, then start to quietly pant. Kuon insists she is panting from arousal not fear, but Ren disagrees, as if that’s new. “Then what, maybe how to move your body to entice him? Show him how desirable you can be, before you show him your desire.” Her pupils are starting to blow, and he prays its arousal and not fear. If she fears him that much already then all is lost, might as well keep pushing if that’s the case. She won’t ever let him touch her again after this anyways. “Do you want me to teach you how to react to his hands as he starts to love you, what you should do to drive him crazy? Or do you just want me to skip to the finale so you can go fully prepared?” Ren realizes that he wants to do all of that, it causes him to pause for a moment as he tries to control the rampant fantasies of her writhing under him in ecstasy, screaming his name as she cums.

 

              “Tsuruga-san I am so sorry I upset you, but you don’t need to force yourself to do this. I know you aren’t this sort of man, and I am sorry to push this role on you.” Hearing her apologize for his actions brings a little of his sanity back, but Kuon won’t let it be now. ‘She came to us for this, we started it now she will just have to stick around while we finish it.’ Kuon is sure Ren will agree since they have been so in sync since they made their move. ‘I can’t do that while she feels like this is terrible for me and a punishment for her, we are going to need to figure something else out.’ Ren know Kuon will be pissed but he can’t bring himself to hurt her, he won’t be like that bastard Fuwa and do only what’s do for himself.

 

              “I am mad at you Kyoko, but I would never hurt you. Not to mention do you really think you could make me do something I really don’t want to? I am just doing what you asked, so unless you tell me to stop and leave I am going to show you.” Ren sees her heart rate pick up in the pulse at her neck, right where he wants to sink his teeth and mark her.

 

              “I didn’t want a um… hands on demonstration Tsuruga-san. I was hoping you had some, uh, reference material that I could borrow. Maybe answer some questions. At the most show me where to put my hands as we kiss, I never meant that you would need to actually DO anything with me.” The expectant and slightly fearful look on her face is enough to give him his control back, mostly.

 

              “Ok, Mogami-san. What do you need exactly?” Ren asks as he moves off her and pulls her to a sitting position on the couch. “What is it that you thought I could give you that you couldn’t find on the internet?” Kuon understands that this would only cause them all pain, and while he has no problems hurting Ren and himself he would never willingly destroy her heart.

 

              “Well I didn’t want to get the reference materials from work, everyone would know what I was watching and why. I don’t think I am ready for that quite yet, it will be bad enough later.” She mumbles the last part but he still hears it, and it sets his mind racing. ‘Is she worried about people knowing what she is up to, or about them knowing who she is doing it with?’ He can’t help but wonder which part she is ashamed of or embarrassed by.

 

              “I still don’t know why you needed me Mogami-san. You obviously don’t want to tell me about this, so why would you trust me with the other part of your secret? If you can’t trust me to keep the whole secret don’t tell me part of it. It just makes me want to know even more.” He tells her calmly, though the sadness is bleeding into his voice a little. Hopefully she won’t be able to tell it’s heartbreak instead of sadness about her lack of trust. “Though I wish I would never have to think of you like that.” He mumbles to himself as softly as he can.

 

_Back to Kyoko’s POV._

              “Ok Kyoko, what do you want me to teach you first?” Ren is so close to her as he asks this she can feel his breath on her lips. That traitorous box flies open and the part of her locked inside says to take what he is offering, let him show her what his love would feel like. He used her first name with no honorifics, it makes her feel like her heart may stop. But She quickly squashes that as soon as it mentions love, she won’t be so weak as to fall to this act. ‘Though with the things he is saying to me, if he didn’t have so much anger in his eyes I would probably be seduced by the Emperor thinking he really loves me. I wish he felt this way, wanted to touch me this way but it’s obvious he hates every minute of this.’ She tunes back into what Tsuruga-san is saying at an amazing point.

 

              “Do you want me to teach you how to react to his hands as he starts to love you, what you should do to drive him crazy? Or do you just want me to skip to the finale so you can go fully prepared?” She hears this question from his lips and her traitorous heart skips a beat and then leaps into her throat. Though that is good since it keeps her from speaking, no telling if she would have explained what she really meant or begged for just what he was offering. Probably best not to think about it, especially since he seems so disgusted. That let’s all the hot air out of her balloon, she quickly plummets from the high to reality (as she sees it).

 

              “Tsuruga-san I am so sorry I upset you, but you don’t need to force yourself to do this. I know you aren’t this sort of man, and I am sorry to push this role on you.” She realizes how unfair it was to come here and ask him to touch her, he has never given any indication he would want that. Looking at his face right now proves it, he doesn’t want to have to touch her and pretend to love her. It hurts to see how much he hates it, and how close to disgust he is even with how great of an actor he is. It’s her own fault though for making him feel like he had to show her instead of just telling her, since she is such a bad actress compared to him.

 

              “I am mad at you Kyoko, but I would never hurt you. Not to mention do you really think you could make me do something I really don’t want to? I am just doing what you asked, so unless you tell me to stop and leave I am going to show you.” She is halted in her self-doubt and her general disgust with her actions and assumptions. That short bit of an explanation as he sits up tells her he won’t hate her for this even if he didn’t like touching her. He is probably still mad about the part… ‘wait I didn’t tell him about the part. Oh NO!!! Sawara-san really called him! He knows what a fool I am, no wonder he is angry.’ She starts to bow but then stops, remembering he hates when she interrupts to bow for things instead of waiting till he finishes. He is apparently done talking, and looking at her expectantly waiting for her to talk.

 

              “I didn’t want a um… hands on demonstration Tsuruga-san. I was hoping you had some, uh, reference material that I could borrow. Maybe answer some questions. At the most show me where to put my hands as we kiss, I never meant that you would need to actually DO anything with me.” She explains and tries not to let the hope show in her eyes that he will forgive her and understand, he has been pressured by her wishes enough today or any day. She knows that he will want more details but it is so embarrassing that she decides to wait for him to ask about what he wants to know specifically.

 

              “Ok, Mogami-san. What do you need exactly?” Ren asks as he moves off her and pulls her to a sitting position on the couch. “What is it that you thought I could give you that you couldn’t find on the internet?” The questions are the one that she knew he would ask, but the answer to the second question can NEVER be answered. She wouldn’t shove her unwelcome feelings on him like that. No reason to tell him she was easily convinced to come ask him because she might end up with him touching her, and she wants that desperately. However, he only touches her for roles. She isn’t Setsuka to push what she wants and be confident he wants it too.

 

              “Well I didn’t want to get the reference materials from work, everyone would know what I was watching and why. I don’t think I am ready for that quite yet, it will be bad enough later.” She mumbles the last part hoping he won’t hear and know she doesn’t feel comfortable with doing these scenes in front of all the staff and other actors. She could she some emotion running across Tsuruga-san’s face but for once she can’t figure out what it is, or even if it’s good since she has never seen a look like that on his face before. Hopefully he won’t call her out on taking up part but being too stubborn to get the materials she needs to do it right.

 

              “I still don’t know why you needed me Mogami-san. You obviously don’t want to tell me about this, so why would you trust me with the other part of your secret? If you can’t trust me to keep the whole secret don’t tell me part of it. It just makes me want to know even more.” He tells her with a voice that is sad, but it isn’t normal sadness. She tries to place that tone that sounds so familiar but her brain refuses to dwell on it. While she is worrying about that she almost misses what he whispers under his breath a few seconds later. “Though I wish I would never have to think of you like that.” He looks so heartbreakingly sad… she freezes as she realizes what that tone sounded like, it was her when she was younger and constantly having to tell Corn (the stone) about all the sad things that happened because he doesn’t love her as much as she does him. ‘That can’t be right, he doesn’t love me. Just look at the way he reacted to having to touch me, that is not a look of love. He is probably just really disappointed that he wasted his time on someone like me, now that he knows how useless I am as an actress.

 

_We are back to having both thought processes at once._

 

“I do trust you Tsuruga-san! You and Moko are the only ones who know, who I was willing to talk to about it. I am sorry that it upset you, so I will avoid asking you for advice on these kinds of things in the future. I created this problem so I will solve it on my own.” Kyoko makes sure her voice doesn’t break and she doesn’t cry from the wave of sadness that tries to overtake her as he makes it obvious it was about trust and honesty not her.

 

              “Mogami-san I understand that you think you were trusting me with this, but you left so much out that it was more insulting than not telling me anything at all.” He has a resigned tone no matter how hard he tries not to. He can’t help it, she is in love with someone else and using him for practice. ‘No man should have to endure this, I would be perfectly in my rights to tell her to get out. But if I do that I could lose any chance I might have with her in the future, and possibly even our friendship. I don’t want to lose all contact with her, I will take the little piece of her she is willing to give me.’ He realizes he sounds pathetic even to himself, but he just can’t lose her.

 

              “Tsuruga-san I wasn’t… ok you are right there was something I have to tell you and I should have said it first. I tried to take the part before I finished the script, and Sawara-san was angry I didn’t follow instructions and finish the whole thing. When I read it at my place that night completely I knew that I had no way to play out these parts of the script but I love it so much that I had to ask Moko what she had to say. She agreed that if I really want the part, all of the sexy stuff can be taught, we hoped anyways. I’m so, so sorry that it was so displeasing to you for you to touch me and have to act like you wanted to. But if you could bear it, will you still be my friend?” She asked with this look of such sadness and loss that Ren couldn’t help the flinch and grimace that sprung up, unfortunately she was watching closely and saw.

 

              “Well, Kyoko…” Ren never got farther than that with what he was going to say since Kyoko’s temper finally made an appearance.

 

              “You know what? For Japan’s top male actor, you sure can’t hide your feelings well.” Kyoko was livid and all but smoked as she stood up from the couch to try and tower over him. In Ren’s defense, he thought she was furious because his love for her was evident on his face, so he never thought to defend himself as he sat in frozen horror with a blank face. “Never mind, you don’t have to worry about it Tsuruga-san. I will make sure you never have to force yourself to touch me again, but I wish you wouldn’t rub it in my face how much it disgusts you to touch me. I already knew that no man would want me, I didn’t need you to rub it in like Sho!” She practically screamed the last part as she slammed the door on the way out. Ren would have gone after her except she was crying as she left and he still couldn’t comprehend how things had gone so wrong.

 

              Kyoko leaned against his door for a few minutes to try and calm down, and if she was being honest with herself to give him a chance to come after her and tell her she was wrong. After 5 minutes, her tears had dried and so had her ability to love as she realized he wasn’t coming and that for the second time the man she loved didn’t give a damn about her. She straightened her clothes and hair since she knew Moko would be furious is she went out looking like a mess. As she headed home she sent the president a message that stopped his heart, before it filled with rage.

 

_President Takarada-san,_

_I am messaging to tell you I_

_will no longer accept LoveMe_

_assignments regarding_

_Tsuruga-san. Since he is so_

_disgusted by me asking him_

_to touch me. I will understand_

_if you fire me for this I will_

_understand, please just let me_

_finish my current filming first._

Lory doesn’t know what happened, but he knows Ren is in for a world of hurt. Last time Kyoko said she was ok with being fired she tried to leave. He knows that no one else even knows that she tried to go home to Kyoto, but it took everything he and Maria had to keep her here. If Ren screwed that up with his lack of skills dealing with people then Lory would make sure he saw the punishment coming.

 

              “Yashiro, I want Ren in my office in the next hour or I am canceling his current projects and future projects till my anger lessens.” Lory was quiet but unbelievably scary as he growled at Yashiro over the phone. It was made so much worse by the fact that Yashiro had never heard him angry before. He started to wonder what Ren had done before he remembered Kyoko was going over today. With wide eyes and slightly shaking hands he made the call.

 

              “Ren, get to the president’s office now. I don’t know what you did but he is openly furious, so hurry before it’s too late.”

 

What the hell happened to my day? Ren and Kuon are both stumped by the terrible turn his day took since he took that role to try and woo his love, who now hates him. He slowly gets up and shuffles out of the door to see what is wrong now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I am sure that took a turn from what most of you expected but I hope that you still enjoyed it and will come back to see what's next.


	4. I Already Know I Am a Monster so Stop Rubbing It In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren explains what happened, and then world swirls into action around him. He finds himself the object of animosity of everyone around him, but is too numb to care. Kyoko on the other hand is far past numb, with little chance of coming back to the world at large as broken as she is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is long, sad, and a little all over the place. I had two friends test read it and one loved it and thought it fit the characters, whereas the other thought I had messed up the reaction of the characters aside from Ren, Kyoko, and Kuu. I will let you all be the judge, and I hope you 'enjoy' the world that is being built. Thank you for reading this, I will see you again soon with the next chapter. Considering how strong the inspiration is it will probably only be a few days at most.

“What the HELL were you thinking?!? Because I know you didn’t just tell me you assaulted then insulted Kyoko-chan. In fact, I know you didn’t just tell me that because if you did I would be required to call your father and tell him what you did you colossal IDIOT!” That was the loudest and angriest anyone had ever heard Lory Takarada, with good reason. Lory wasn’t prone to fits of temper simply because he cared too much about people’s feelings and reasons to react in anger. However, they had never been around as a young man admitted to assaulting an underage girl he is desperately protective of and sentimental towards. It only made it worse that Ren was dumb enough to both admit what he did and what was screamed at him afterwards, and all without seeming like he cared. He merely seemed a little sad, even to the people who know him best. A calm Kyoko might have realized it was much worse than that, but no one without the carefully honed senses of an abused child or lover would be able to tell. Which means not a single person in that room could tell how badly shaken he was by the whole thing, and that made the anger even worse than it would have been.

 

              “For all that the president jokes of you just yanking her to you and making her love you back that is not the way he meant it, it is not the way any of us ever meant it Ren. I don’t know what possessed you to do such a thing and I don’t really care. All I can tell you is that you will need to take care of yourself for the next few days while I take care of the girl you tried to destroy.” Yashiro was so angry that he was to that calm quiet place where murders seem like a promising idea if only you knew which part of them you want to break first. He glared at Ren over his shoulder as he opened the door to leave the office, “if you decide you give a damn at some point you can talk to Kotonami-san or me. You are NOT to try and contact Kyoko-chan.” With that he left and quietly closed the door before he rushed out of the building to try and see what Kyoko needs.

 

              “Grandpa why are you all yelling at Ren-sama? He wouldn’t do anything that bad, not enough for you to yell anyways grandpa.” Maria said as she peered in from the side door, and all the men in the room froze. Ren because Maria’s words were the final push his heart needed to break apart, whereas Lory and Sebastian were worried about Maria hearing things no girl her age should. “Grandpa I see that look on your face, it’s the same face everyone made when they said it wasn’t my fault mama died after saying it was all my fault when they didn’t know I was there. So, before you lie to me remember, I never was able to believe adults again till big sister and I know how to tell when I’m being lied to.” Maria might be young but she wasn’t an idiot or a pushover, and her grandfather knew it.

 

              “Maria, *sigh* I am not giving you details. But I will tell you he hurt your big sister just as bad as her ex did, if not worse. She was crying when she left his place, and Yashiro is rushing to check on her. He is probably also concerned she will try to leave again, since he was the only one who figured it out.” Lory sounded so sad even to his own ears, that the crying sounds startled them because he thought they were coming from himself. When he realized they weren’t he whipped around to Maria to comfort her, only to realize she was glaring at Ren who was shaking as tears ran down his face.

 

              “It’s no use acting like it matter now Tsuruga-san! If it really did then you would have been upset before, or are you upset because you know the drama will be postponed. I can’t believe you would do something to big sister, but seeing you like this I can tell you did. Why did you have to choose now to break her, she was finally moving on. Now she never will, we will be lucky if she even feels affection for her friends after this.” Maria had never sounded so cold, not even when she was acting up before she met Kyoko and everyone in the room knew it. She turned and walked from the room without another word, she merely glared at her grandfather with a look that sent a shiver down his spine.

 

              “Why are you upset now Ren? Nothing you said before seemed to bother you, in fact you seemed decidedly unabashed to admit everything that had happened. What changed when Maria came in?” Lory had run out of the energy necessary to be mad, but he decided that based on what he heard next he would need to decide what to tell Kuu.

 

              *sob* Lory and Sebastian both jumped at the sound, they had never heard Ren make that sound. Lory hadn’t even heard Kuon make that sound after Rick died, and that destroyed him entirely. They didn’t know what to do as they watched a grown man fall into the floor and wrap his arms his knees as he continued to sob as if his entire world had died and he was all alone. Lory could tell something more than what Ren had said had occurred so he sat down at his desk to call Kuu as one of his sons mourned the lost love of his other son.

 

              “Kuu, it’s Lory.” … “No, that crying isn’t why I’m calling, well not exactly anyways. Kuon earned that pain and I am going to let him work it out till he calms down some. However, you need to call Kyoko, your idiot son did something that can’t be taken back and she may be lost to all of us soon if we don’t hurry.” Lory would feel over dramatic but, he knew how fragile Kyoko’s self-worth was and that she can’t act without it. He had to wonder if he would lose his two top actors in one evening over the unthinking words of a boy who should have already become a man. He set the phone down without saying goodbye since Kuu had hung up before he finished saying hurry. He could only hope that the rest could manage to save what was left of Kyoko’s heart while he tried to piece Kuon back together one more time.

 

 

“Moko, I am coming to your apartment. You can just come home when you get a chance.” Kyoko had hung up before Kanae had a chance to respond.

 

              “What the hell just happened?” Kanae couldn’t help but wonder out loud, forgetting that she was on set. That is, she forgot until Hiou touched her shoulder to pull her back to the present and the room she was in. He just tilted his head toward the dressing rooms in silent invitation, and the whole room knew something bad had happened when Kanae followed his direction without a word as she stared at her phone.

 

              “Ok, what is happening Kanae? You never lose it like that in public, you are too professional for that. Something happened so talk to me.” He softly entreated her to tell him what was happening, but worryingly enough she never looked away from her phone. So, he pulled out the big guns, thanking god he had a growth spurt and was only about 6 inches shorter than her now with broader shoulders. He put one hand on her cheek and the other held her jaw to pull her head up to look at him, when she still just sort of looks through him he decided to do something he knew she wouldn’t be ok with. He just prayed he could explain it to her before she hit him and stormed out. He took a deep breath then rubbed his thumb over her lips, before he added a bit of extra provocation. “Kanae if you don’t respond in the next three seconds I am going to kiss you.” That snapped her back to herself!

 

              “Who do you think you are Hiou?!? You might be one of my closest friends and my closest sempai but I won’t let you do whatever you want.” She fumed before she noticed the look of relief on his face even as he tensed as if waiting for her to hit him. She took a deep, deep breath. “What happened, why did you try to kiss me Hiou? You are not the sort of man to try and take advantage.” If Kanae knew nothing else she knew that he wouldn’t disrespect her like that.

 

              “You got a call, from who I can only assume is Kyoko, and then cussed loudly on set.” He saw her mouth drop then draw herself up to start asking questions so he held his hand to stop her. “Then you just stared at your phone, so I touched your shoulder to get your attention. When you looked at me I tilted my head this direction in a silent invitation to come here and you just came immediately. When we got here you were just sitting there staring at your phone and wouldn’t move or respond to me. I didn’t know what else to do to get your attention, I knew you would be angry. I am well aware of the fact that you want to hit me and I was prepared for it when I touched you so feel free.” Hiou knew he had stunned her, but then he saw her hand come up so he closed his eyes to wait for the blow. But then she knocked him out in an unexpected way, she cupped his cheek and when he opened his eyes he was staring into hers.

 

              “Thank you for taking care of me, even when you thought that it would get you hurt. I was so scared by what happened I didn’t know what to do, something is horribly wrong.” She looked fragile, which was a scary thing for Hiou since he knows how strong she is. “She sounded… dead inside, like everything that gave her emotions was carved out and left somewhere. This wasn’t the same as when something happens and she hides all her emotions to avoid troubling other, something in her sounded broken and I don’t know if I can fix it. I don’t know if I can help, and that means I could lose my best friend.” The sadness in her voice was Hiou’s undoing.

 

              “Come here,” he said as he pulled her into a hug. “We will figure it out, let’s go check on her. Do you have any idea where she could be?” Hiou was already walking her out of the studio as he used a hand signal to alert his manager to an issue that required him to leave early, he trusted them to include Kanae in it as well.

 

              When the taxi pulled in to the parking lot of Kanae’s apartment complex they could see Kyoko leaned against a wall without expression. It wasn’t her blank expression she used for innocence, it was the face of a doll. No soul and no emotions, devoid of anything that made her human beside her appearance and memories. Kanae decided to take a page out of Hiou’s book and just nodded towards the entrance to indicate Kyoko should follow. When they got to the room Kanae couldn’t believe her ears. Then the rage set in, as she realized what that fool had done, and how badly this affected everyone who loves her.

 

              “It isn’t a big deal Moko, it was my own fault for forgetting who and what I am. I knew my place but I stepped out of it, acting like I could make a new place for myself. I was a fool and that is all there is to it, so let it go Kanae.” Kyoko said with that same dead voice and no light in her eyes, Kanae and Hiou both felt sick listening to her tell them it was her fault that he was a monster to her. Neither knew where to start but Kanae knew she had to say something and stop this spiral while she could, but the doorbell rang incessantly as soon as she opened her mouth. She stormed over and yanked the door open.

 

              “What?!?” She was snarling in public and right now she didn’t care. She got ready to do worse than snarl once she saw who it was. “You have a lot of nerve coming here, you can take your dog and go home. I won’t let him hurt her more than he has!” She couldn’t believe the nerve of these men. But then Hiou put a hand on her arm, he looked very serious when she turned to look at him.

 

              “Wait a second Kanae, he looks… well he looks like you right now. Like he would gladly rip the world apart to undo this. I don’t think that look is for Tsuruga-san, I think he found out and is here to check on her. Am I right Yashiro-san?” Hiou asked in a calm voice, but anyone looking would be able to tell how stressed he is by how tight his shoulders are and how stiff his face is.

 

              “Almost right Hiou-kun. I am here to see how badly I need to destroy Ren. I need to know if I have time to do it slow or if I should just destroy him and free her from the pain he caused.” The look on Yashiro’s face scared the teens quite badly, but it also let them know without a doubt he was here to take care of Kyoko.

 

              “Come on in then, you might need to hurry to get anything from her though. It seems like a little more of her dies each time she explains it’s her own fault for stepping out of her place.” Kanae can’t help but tell him that, she knows he is good with emotions and Kyoko. Whereas she has no idea what to do with most emotions, even when she needs to help her best friend. ‘What a useless friend I am’ is all she can think, forgetting that even broken as she is Kyoko’s first reaction was to run to the safety of Kanae.

 

              “Kyoko-chan, I was wondering what you’re doing today. You have the day, off right? Would you be willing to hang out with me?” Yashiro makes the biggest puppy dog eyes Kanae has ever seen, even better than Kyoko’s. However, it doesn’t have the effect Kanae thought it would.

 

              “You should hang out with Hiou or Kanae, they are people that have value outside of work. It would be better for you to pretend I’m air. Your client will be quite upset you are talking to someone like me, you don’t need to get in trouble over me.” Kyoko tells him this and Kanae’s heart falls for several reasons, first she keeps getting called Kanae and the lack of nickname is starting to hurt. When you add to it that Kyoko just said she has no value as a person and it’s all Kanae can do to keep from falling to the floor to cry the tears her friend can’t right now. Hiou however, notices something very important so he stays still and sees if Yashiro-san can pull this off.

 

              “I know I’m not very good looking, and I’m not an actor… sorry, of course you wouldn’t want to spend your free time with me. Even though I am pretty sure I just lost my job, and good riddance, but now I was feeling kind of lonely. I didn’t think about the fact you probably don’t want to see me, because I used to work for HIM.” Yashiro sounds so sad and heartbroken that Kanae can’t tell whether he is an actor with skills to rival Tsuruga, or if it hurts him that much to see her like this.

 

              Kyoko actually flinches when he finishes, and everyone can see a tiny bit of light back in her eyes as she answers. “I never meant to make you feel like you aren’t good enough, or that I don’t like you Yashiro-san. I just thought you could do better than be friends with me.” Kyoko says this but before she can shut back off again her eyes fly wide open and she grabs Yashiro’s face, which startles Kanae and Hiou but Yashiro saw this coming and keeps his sad expression. “What do you mean you lost your job? What happened? Are you going to be ok? Do you need anything?” Kyoko asks with her normal overabundance of caring, she has been brought back but now is the hard part. They have to piece her back together.

 

              “Kyoko-chan, I could never work for someone who would hurt people that way. Especially someone who hurt you, and in the same way as the last loser too.” Yashiro’s voice is kind but firm, letting Kyoko know it isn’t up for debate. She has no idea what to say to him now. As she is staring at him, Kanae is starting to fidget. She is realizing this is much harder than just getting her to open up again, they really do need to glue the pieces back together. The silence starts to stretch on as they all wait for Kyoko to decide how she wants this to go, then the doorbell rings again and again.

 

              “WHAT?!?” Kanae yells at the idiot who is bothering them now, only to realize it’s Maria-chan. “I’m sorry Maria-chan, I am just upset right now. Please don’t think I’m mad at you.” Kanae can’t think of anything worse than having two distraught children in her apartment, and she can’t think of that sad little girl behind her as anything but a little girl.

 

              “It’s ok Kanae-san, I know who you are mad at. I am not allowed to know the details, but I couldn’t leave her alone right now.” Maria is looking Kanae straight in the eye, and Kanae realizes that even though she is young Maria loves Kyoko too.

 

              “Come on in. Yashiro-san finally snapped her out of her shell, but I am not sure that was good. I don’t know what we need to do to help Maria-chan, so if this gets bad you have to go home. No arguments, understand?” Kanae knows she wants to be here, but if Kyoko starts to spiral she wouldn’t want the girl she thinks of as a kid sister to have to watch it happen.

 

              “I understand, it would just make it harder on big sister later if she knew I was something horrible. I won’t hurt her more, I promise.” Is all Maria says before she hustles over to her sister. She sits on the floor next to Yashiro-san and then says something no one expected to hear. “Should we curse him, kill him, or fire him? I don’t need to know what he did to tell he hurt you, so what can we do in return?” The calm assurance in her voice is the final straw for Kyoko.

 

              She throws herself into Yashiro’s lap, to everyone’s surprise, and then pulls Maria over to join the hug as she starts to sob with her whole body. The great wailing cries tear at the hearts of everyone there as she clings to Maria while Yashiro-san sits in the floor with both girls pulled into his lap. He isn’t sure why Kyoko wants him to hold her instead of Kanae, but he would never deny this girl the comfort she is so desperately seeking. After about 10 minutes she is still weeping with the same ferocity and doesn’t seem to be slowing down, but Hiou finally notices Kyoko’s phone on the side table lighting up over and over as if someone just keeps calling as soon as it hits voicemail.

 

              He goes to check it, thinking it might be one of the two idiots (how sad is it that there are two now he thinks) but gets a surprise when he sees the screen. A Picture of Hizari Kuu is on the screen with the name Dad under it! He quickly answers the phone, forgetting that his voice can’t be heard over Kyoko right now. After a few seconds, he does though and taps Kanae on the shoulder, holds up the phone and points to her bedroom. She nods then turns back to watch Kyoko, as if she could see something she could do to make it all better. Hiou snaps out of the thought process to hurry where he can hear and be heard.

 

              “Hello, sir. This is Uesugi Hiou, Kyoko can’t answer right now. How can I help you?” He asks in a polite, if sad and distracted voice. Though he was fairly certain there was nothing he could do for this man.

 

              “Is that my daughter in the background? Never mind, I know it is. My wife and I are on our way. It will take us almost 14 hours to get to Tokyo. We will come straight to where she is. Just text me the address from her phone. And whatever you do, don’t let her out of your sight. If she is this vulnerable in front of people she is close to losing it completely.” Kuu doesn’t wait for a reply, He is already calling for Julie before he can even hang up. He knows he needs to hurry, he has a bad feeling that even he may not be able to put her back together again. But he refuses to lose a second child to the darkness and madness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that was a rough chapter, at least to write. I hope it was just as heart-wrenching to read. This chapter was something that kept me up last night and took a couple hours today, but it was worth it to tell the story that was building in my head. If you all haven't noticed I have no problems with angst or sadness and think they are important to characters. I can promise though that this isn't going to be some depressing, sad story with only sorrow and suffering. Life always get better if you give it time and a chance, it will work the same for them.
> 
> I hope to see you all again for the next chapter. Feel free to leave a comment with constructive criticism.


	5. How Do You Fix Something in So Many Jagged Little Pieces?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They work on soothing Kyoko and getting her settled in for the night. Yet even as this is happening they are all growing closer to her and one another, as if this is the push they needed to be more open with one another. Though some of the reactions to the way she is soothed means Hiou will have a LOT of explaining to do later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know this is out really soon again, but I am using it to avoid working on some end of term work that I hate. Also it should be said that I realize that things will be flying at you all quickly, but I trust you all to keep up with Kyoko's crazy evening.

“Hiou, who was that?” Kanae has finally followed Hiou into her room to see what was taking him so long with Kyoko’s phone. She wasn’t prepared for the look of grim determination on his face, and she was rather surprised that her brain actually had enough free space to say he looked far older and amazingly handsome like that. She shook that thought from her head, she didn’t have time to moon over Hiou like an idiot. “Well… who was it?” She was starting to be a little concerned that he just smirked when she asked the first time.

 

              “That was Kyoko’s father. He is on his way and wants us to never let her out of our sight till he gets here. He seems to think it would be a supremely bad idea.” Hiou felt just a little smug that he knew of Hizuri and Kyoko’s relationship. Then he noticed the blood drain from Kanae’s face. “What? What is it? Is he a problem? Should I get security set up here?” He was a little panicked at how scared Kanae looked.

 

              “If Kuu says she can’t be alone then she definitely can’t be alone. He understands her better than even Ren… or better than we thought Tsuruga-san knew her. He seems to understand how to deal with a child that is that…” she had to search for the right word, “traumatized by their childhood.” She was already changing her plans and pulling out her phone to call in her absences, but Hiou grabbed her hand.

 

              “Kanae you knew she was Hizuri Kuu’s love child and you didn’t tell me? Did you think I would say something to the press, or did you just think I would never be close enough to all of you to find out?” He couldn’t believe that she trusted him so little, he had to know the reason.

 

              Kanae would normally have blown him off, but she was far more in tune with peoples’ emotional needs today than usual. “Hiou, there is so much to tell you about this but we don’t have time so you will get the abridged version. She isn’t his love child, he worked with her and saw how much she wanted a family so he sort of adopted her. I didn’t tell you because I am still not sure what it means for her, much less for us. And I would never believe you capable of betraying me by telling something personal I tell you to anyone, especially the press. I trust you completely Hiou. You are the only man near my age I do trust, so please don’t be hurt that I didn’t tell you a story that wasn’t mine to tell.” She was perfectly serious and being absolutely honest and Hiou wished he could do something about what she had just told him, but they had more pressing things to get to.

 

              “Ok, then let’s get to work.” He started to make his own calls after texting Hizuri-san the address. He knew once he was done he needed to make calls for Kyoko as well. It was going to be a long night.

 

 

              “There, there. It’s ok Kyoko-chan, I have you and Maria-chan is here for you. Plus, your dad is on his way with his wife, he should be here by 2pm at the latest. So just try and sleep Kyoko-chan, none of us will go anywhere while you are asleep. I PROMISE.” Yashiro-san emphasizes the promise but it seems to make the whimpering, sleepy child in his lap feel a little better. Though she keeps her death grip on his shirt and her crushing hug on Maria. Neither of them seem to care at all, especially since Hiou-kun helped them out and put pillows and backrests around them to help hold them up so they could relax their muscles. The only person not in the room is Kanae and that’s because it is her turn for a shower and a change of clothes, Hiou gets to go next. The three on the floor will need to wait till Kyoko is a little calmer before they can do the same.

 

              *doorbell* (again) Hiou goes to answer it but is a little more cautious than Kanae right now. He checks the peephole and is floored by who he sees. Takarada Lory had sent his personal secretary/butler, and he was holding a huge box. Hiou quickly opens the door even though it doesn’t seem like Sebastian is struggling with the weight of the box. “The president must have sent you, so go ahead and bring that in.” Hiou starts to move aside when he sees movement behind Sebastian. “Who the HELL is back there, and what are you doing here?” Hiou can only imagine its idiot 1 or 2, then remembers there is a third creepier idiot to worry about too.

 

              “I’m sorry Uesugi-kun, I didn’t mean to startle you. The president told me Kyoko was hurting right now when I came to discuss her project. Is it ok if I come in too?” Director Ogata would never assume he was welcome in a private moment, but he had to check on her. That girl was his saving grace, she had helped pull him from despair and destruction. He was hoping he could help do the same, though all he had been told was all the hard work to build her emotions and self-confidence had been undone.

 

              “Sorry Ogata-san, but with 3 idiots determined to hurt her I can’t help being over-protective right now. We, well Yashiro-san and Maria-chan, have barely calmed her any. I didn’t want one of them to show up and ruin it.” Hiou isn’t really apologizing, just explaining. He will never apologize for helping Kyoko, both because he cares for her and because Kanae loves her dearly. He steps aside to let them both in, but must warn them. “Before you go to the living room, I have to warn you… she is totally wrecked right now. She looks like a small child, and it is physically painful to see so much hurt. If you can deal with that, come on in. If not Kanae and I can text to keep you in the loop.”  He lets them go past without answering, hoping the adults can handle what they are going to see.

 

“Oh, my poor girl what happened?” Ogata sounds so gutted to see her like this that Hiou realizes there is yet another person who loves her here. However, something sets Kyoko back off, and no one knows if it was his words or tone or the surprise of hearing him. However, he immediately realizes he needs to leave. He puts his number in Hiou’s phone then quickly leaves after requesting to be in the loop. Meanwhile Yashiro works on soothing and calming her once again.

 

              Sebastian had been unpacking and setting up everything he had in the giant box. The first thing anyone notices is the food, though that is quickly followed by the amazing projector that has a fairy forest playing on the wall. Then the large pile of blankets, junk food, and pajamas. The final thing he pulls out is a teddy bear in a set of felt knights armor. Kanae immediately acts on that teddy bear.

 

              “Can I go give that to her now? I know you brought it but I want to avoid throwing things out of balance too much. She would feel more comfortable with me I think.” Kanae knows it’s rather rude but all she cares about right now is Kyoko, she can apologize later if necessary.

 

              “You didn’t need to ask Miss Kotonami, the president instructed me to hand this over to you. He said it would mean more coming from you than anyone else.” Sebastian states simply before handing her the bear and finishing setting up the projector and food.

 

              “Thank you.” Is all Kanae says before going over to Kyoko. She sits down on the floor next to them all and then touches Kyoko’s shoulder. Kanae tries not to get her feelings hurt when she flinches. “Kyoko, it’s me, sorry to startle you. I thought maybe you would like to sleep with this, we got it for you.” She feels a little bad for claiming credit but figures the president will understand. She wasn’t prepared for Kyoko’s reaction to this small gift though.

 

              All the sudden Kyoko’s eyes lit up and she looked from the bear to Kanae’s face and back again, over and over. Then all the sudden the arm she had around the sleeping Maria moved to put out her hand without jostling the sleeping child. That alone told Kanae how much better she was doing if she was thinking of things like that. “Moko it’s wonderful! Thank you so much! Can I really keep him?” She asked with so much more spirit than anything else that had happened that evening regarding herself. Kanae is immediately relieved to have her stupid nickname back, but decides to make a push really quick.

 

              “You can have the bear but first you have to let Sebastian take Maria-chan home, she already fell asleep and this posture can’t be fun to sleep in even for a child. Then I want to move to the couch ok? We can maybe let Yashiro-san go to the bathroom and put on pajamas too. That way we can start our sleep over. Is that ok?” She is worried this may push Kyoko too far but had to try. She is still worried about how small and child-like Kyoko is tonight, and the large dose of sadness that was still in her voice even as she said something happy. Her expressions didn’t look quite right either, something almost fake about them, like it was someone who was trying to make a facial expression to go with an emotion they had never felt before. Kanae made sure that she didn’t show how sad she was on her face, or let her eyes water like she wanted.

 

              “Oh, sure. If Sebastian is here to take her home that’s fine. I am so happy you invited me for a real sleepover. This will be my first sleep over where it isn’t just you and me.” Kyoko still has that creepy combination of excited and morbidly depressed in her voice, but everyone starts moving as soon as she is done talking. Sebastian picked up Maria-chan and left with a bow. Hiou came over to help Yashiro-san stand since he knew his legs had to be asleep after having the two girls in his lap for almost 4 hours. While Kanae handed Kyoko the bear and then helped her settle on the couch. Yashiro-san wouldn’t leave the room till he talked to Kyoko, which Hiou was sort of expecting. No man would sit still with a grown teenager and a child in his lap for 4 hours without complaint if he didn’t care immensely.

 

              “Kyoko-chan, thank you for letting me come to the sleep over too. I am going to take a shower and put on my pajamas now. Then maybe we could eat dinner together?” Hiou has no idea how a grown man manages to sound and look that bashfully hopeful when he isn’t an actor but he is doing his best not to question it.

 

              “Sure Yashiro-san, I don’t mind waiting for dinner. But you don’t need to thank us for having you sleep over too, you’re our friend.” She says it so simply that even Yashiro needs a minute to cope. Then he has an idea.

 

“Um, if I’m your friend could you maybe use my first name? It’s Yukihito, but almost no one calls me by name anymore.” He looks at Kyoko hopefully, waiting for an answer.

 

              “Uh, if you really want me too then sure, but it isn’t very polite of me. It seems too rude to call you by your first name.” She is trying to politely explain she shouldn’t which means she still isn’t back to normal or she would be freaking out saying there was no way. They would take any progress they could get right now though.

 

              “Thank you! It is sad when no one is close enough to you to call you by name. I am so happy you’re my friend Kyoko-chan.” Yashiro beams at her before he starts to hobble to the bathroom with Hiou’s help.

 

_1 Hour Later_

 

              “How many people did the president think were in my apartment? There is enough food here for a banquet! I mean come on why would we need 10 hamburger steaks? Do you have any idea why he did this Hiou?” Kanae is completely floored by how much food there is, she keeps forgetting that more people are showing up constantly. Luckily Kyoko is in the shower so she can’t try and apologize for all the food as if it is somehow her fault.

 

              “I think this might be for when Hizuri-san gets here. He is rumored to eat more than should be humanly possible, so the president may have been making sure you don’t run out of food as Hizuri-san eats everything you own.” This calm explanation for fifty people’s worth of food comes from Yukihito-san, and is slightly disconcerting for Kanae now that she remembers a world-famous actor is coming to her apartment. Luckily, she doesn’t have to answer because Kyoko comes out then in fairytale themed pajamas with her bear, looking a little better after the shower.

 

              “Um, is it time for dinner now? Do I need to do anything?” Kyoko asks, still in her small, sad, child-like voice.

 

              “Nope, it’s my house and my sleepover so I get to heat up the food. Come pick what you want, the leftovers are for when your dad gets here.” Kanae says it simply so as not to seem like the extra food was at all startling or worrisome. The look on Kyoko’s face made her freeze though, she knew something she said was bad but she couldn’t figure out what.

 

              “OH NO!!!! Why? Why did you tell him what an awful person I am? You didn’t need to make him come to disown me now!” Kyoko wailed as she started to cry yet again. Hiou acted without thought since Yukihito was across the room. He wrapped her in a hug burying her face in his shoulder as one hand held her head and the other rubbed her back. He didn’t have time to decipher the look he got from Kanae or the indignant huff from Yukihito. He just knew he needed to act fast before there was another full meltdown.

 

              “Easy Kyoko, I have you. We won’t let anyone hurt you, not even Hizuri Kuu. If you don’t want him here I will send him back to America immediately without him seeing you. But you need to know why he said he was coming first. He talked to me… I don’t want you to hate me for talking to him.” He knew it was terrible to pull out his deep, caring, affectionate voice of an adult to sooth and then immediately use the sad, little boy voice to get her to listen. He hated to manipulate her like that but she needed to be calm and listen, and he knows her well enough by now to realize she isn’t capable of rational thought right now. “Do you hate me? Should I go? I’m really sorry, I didn’t know he was mean to you. I really hope you forgive me one day.” He says still in the sad little boy voice while he still holds her and rubs her back. He sees the look Kanae is giving him, and the open-mouthed shock of Yukihito-san but he knows that this was the best option. He can try to get their forgiveness later.

 

              “I’m not mad at you Hiou, I just hoped to keep at least that much family. If he is coming unannounced now he is mad, and I hate when he is mad at me. I just want him to like me is all.” She sounds so sad as she sniffles into his shoulder. She doesn’t even realize she has soaked the shoulder of his shirt and is gripping him tightly now.

 

              Hiou knows he shouldn’t try this, he has never done it before, but he knows the best way to hold a sad and injured child. He just has to make it happen without physically hurting either of them. “Ok, if you aren’t mad at me I want you to hold on tight. I am going to carry you to the chair over there so we can sit comfortably while we talk. I really like talking to you and I don’t want to have to stop because our feet hurt.” He uses his soothing adult voice again, and slips a little teasing into the last sentence. Hoping that she will be comfortable enough with him to trust him to move her. When she just holds on tighter and nods into his shoulder he moves the hand from her head to her back and the one from her back under her legs for a quick and messy princess carry. She squeaks a bit when he picks her up but that is it. He quickly moves the short distance to the kitchen chair and sits down with her across his lap, head still in his shoulder. He uses the hand from her legs to hold her head now and rubs her back with the other, and he feels her relax a little more into him.

 

              “I’m sorry Hiou-kun, I know I am probably not the person you wanted to try that with…” She sounds so sad and lonely again that he makes a split-second decision that he refuses to apologize for, at least not right now.

 

              “Who else would I want to carry like a princess besides our groups own fairy princess expert. This would make you happier than anyone else I know, so why wouldn’t I carry you first? Unless you didn’t want me to… sorry I didn’t think about the fact that you would rather anyone else do this first… Um, do you want me to let you go? Sorry to make you uncomfortable.” Hiou is starting to feel like a real asshole with the constant manipulations, but he will just apologize later when she is whole again, if she is whole again.

 

              “No! I am not mad, I just worried you might not have liked it is all. Plus, I’m so heavy that it had to be hard.” Kyoko quickly explains, sounding like herself but if anyone could see her hands they would know what Hiou knew. She didn’t want to let go of his comfort and warmth, and he wouldn’t ask her to.

 

              “I am not a weakling Kyoko.” He tells her in a soft joking voice with more teasing and affection in it than before. “I am happy to get to hold a pretty girl in a princess carry, it’s just better that I made a friend happy by doing it.” As he says this though he seeks out Kanae with his eyes, begging her to understand why he is saying this to her best friend while she sits in his lap so intimately. He sees Kanae nod at him and knows she understands. The stress leaves his face, though his body and voice never showed it at all. “Is it ok if I tell you why your dad is coming now? I promise it isn’t bad, really.” He uses a voice he never had before, and isn’t even sure how to describe it to anyone later if they asked. He just knew that was how he needed to sound right now to make her feel safe and secure with him.

 

              “If you say it’s not bad Hiou-kun I will listen.” She says it so softly that Kanae and Yukihito don’t hear it so they are a bit startled when Hiou starts talking so soon.

 

              “Ok Kyoko-chan. Your dad is coming because he heard that someone hurt you and he wants to check on you his self. He is mad but not at you, he is only mad at the one who hurt you. He loves you so much it was a little uncomfortable to talk to him. He sounded so affectionate and so worried at the same time.” Hiou makes sure she can hear the smile in his voice by the end, and feels her relax completely into him.

 

              “Thank you Hiou! I don’t want to lose my family again.” She says the last part so quiet that even Hiou has a hard time hearing her. Once he understands what she said though he knows what to do next.

 

              “Kyoko, you could never lose your family again. I love you like you're my big sister and so does Maria-chan. Kanae looks at you with such affection that no one can doubt that you are important to her. Yukihito-san quit his job to come be with you when that man hurt you, and the president sent so many things to try and make you feel better. I think you have a pretty full family even without Hizuri Kuu. You have an older brother and a younger brother and sister, as well as a grandpa and best friend. I don’t know how much more family anyone person needs to have. I think we love you enough to make up for all the other people we don’t have in the group yet.” He tells her with his voice thick with tears and love, even she can’t avoid identifying that feeling in his voice. Then he cinches her return to the land of the living once again with what he says next. He can’t help but whisper the next part into her ear, knowing it’s true and that she will love it. “Besides if I can manage it, in a couple of years Kanae will be your sister-in-law, because I plan to marry that amazing woman one day. But don’t tell her I said that, or she might get mad at me. So, it’s a secret between siblings, ok?”

 

              Kyoko shoves back from him to look at his face, he is not sure what she sees in his eyes but he knows she likes it. She hugs him around the neck and says, “I love all of you too!” Then she whispers one small thing into his ear, “I can help plan it.” He knows she means his plan of attack to win Kanae over.

 

              Hiou can tell when she realizes what position she is in, and how it must look to everyone else because she quickly jumps out of his lap like she was on fire. The look on her face has him fall out of the chair and roll with laughter. He can’t resist nor plan the first words out of his mouth. “How could you ever think we don’t love you when we even think your panicked face of innocence is adorable?!?” He continues to roll around laughing so he doesn’t see her turn red and stare at her feet as she tries to stop the blush. It also means he didn’t see Kanae seek up behind him after getting Kyoko’s attention. She dumped a large glass of freezing-cold water on him, causing him to yelp and scurry away from her. He then just stares at Kanae with a confused look on his face, until Kyoko busts out into big heaving belly laughs as she tries to say something. No one can figure out what she is trying to say, but they don’t care what she might be saying if it makes her that happy.

  

              Everyone eats and then heads to the living room, only to see a giant pallet of pillows, cushions and blankets on the floor. It turns out that while Hiou was soothing Kyoko in the kitchen Yukihito-san decided to set up for their slumber party, in case she was too worn out from the stress to actually eat and lay all this out. It was rather easy since Sebastian had left a note with all the supplies in a box about the easiest way to do it, leave it to him to know exactly how big to make it for Kanae’s living room.

 

              “Ok everyone, I don’t know about you but I vote we watch a fun movie and lay down on this awesome pallet I made.” He winks at them as he points to the pallet and then the TV. They all laugh at him them climb on and try to decide what to watch. It’s almost 2 am, but they all know they shouldn’t try to force her to sleep, no matter how tired she seems. So, they vote for letting her fall asleep naturally, even though this vote was in each of their heads and never mentioned to the others, on the matter of caring for Kyoko they were starting to get in-sync. Kyoko picks Disney's Mulan of all movies, and is horrified that none of them have seen it. She then dumbfounds them all by declaring Mushu her spirit animal as she turns it on. It doesn’t take long till they understand why.

 

              Even after Kyoko falls asleep they just keep watching, desperate to find out how it ends. Surprisingly it is Hiou, and not Yukihito, who is rooting for the romance the hardest, well it was surprising to Kanae at least. Yukihito had to try not to smile and tousle his hair affectionately since he knows exactly why he is so into romance right now. Kanae falls asleep while the credits role and Hiou must force himself not to brush her hair out of her face. He contents himself with just adjusting her blanket so she won’t get cold.

 

              “You know she would most likely hit you if she found out you did that, right?” Yukihito felt he should make sure Hiou understands what could happen to him if she woke up as he did that.

 

              “I know, but I would rather be hit for taking care of her than not take care of her at all. Besides Kyoko says she secretly likes that I treat her as an independent, self-reliant woman, and someone to be cared for and cherished at the same time. Kyoko says that’s all any woman really wants. And while her ability to understand her own love life is dreadfully low, she understands everyone else’s easily.” Hiou decides that they are all close enough after tonight that it shouldn’t be a problem to share that. Even if one of the girls wakes up to overhear, he won’t apologize for caring about Kanae.

 

              “As long as you know there would be repercussions I will stay out of it. Just let me know if you want a man’s advice though.” Yukihito can see that Hiou will be a kind man, and a great partner to the strong woman that Kanae will become. At least if everything holds its course, and tonight proves that life doesn’t always go the direction it should. They both smile then lay down across from the girls, hoping that tomorrow brings new hope for Kyoko. They also vow to destroy anyone who hurts her again. Kyoko really doesn’t know how lucky she is, but the family she has is amazing in their care for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully that made sense to everyone. I edited this piece on my own again so let me know if you see anything off about it. I am sure you will all enjoy the next chapter as Hurricane Kuu hits land. Plus we will jump back over to Ren soon so you can watch him lose it as well. They are a couple of idiots but they are our idiots.
> 
> Let me know if you have any constructive criticism to share with me. I hope you all come back to read the next chapter.


	6. Sometimes You Need Someone Else to Tell You Why You Did It and How to Fix It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren tells Lory why this was so devastating for him, and why he acted like such a colossal idiot. Though he doesn't realize he answered his own question. Lory also tells Ren what all happened to Kyoko the night before thanks to information from one of her friends. Now Ren just has to figure out if he can fix the damage he did to them both.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here is another chapter, but this one is all about Ren and what is happening to him while Kyoko has her breakdown. Hopefully you all enjoy it, since this is the first step to resolving some of the angst.
> 
> Sorry that this chapter is kind of short, but the next one is plenty long so hopefully that makes up for it.

              Lory Kept watch over Ren as he cried out all the anguish he was feeling, realizing that the boy had been holding on to more than he realized. He also can tell that something more than what he is aware of has happened between them, since no man without returned feelings would mourn the loss of a love so new so deeply. He knew he couldn’t leave Ren alone so he sent Sebastian with all the supplies necessary for a sleep over and for the landfall of hurricane Kuu. He is startled out of his reverie by a quiet but despair filled question.

 

              “Why did I do that?” The sound of sorrow so deep in Ren’s voice that it startles even himself, or mostly himself since Lory had just watched him cry for almost 5 hours. Lory is just shocked he can speak at all after the wrenching sobs from before. “I knew she wasn’t talking about Sho, but I let all the insecurities of the last 13 years well up. Why did I hurt her? I knew it would so why?” He is looking at Lory with such confusion that it breaks his heart. Then he notices something he said.

 

              “What do you mean 13 years? You would have been 10 years old. Did you have a problem with your first love about then?” Lory sees Ren flinch, and then realizes he wasn’t talking to Ren. Ren was unable to cope in any way with the damage he had done to Kyoko, but Kuon is used to being a monster. Kuon just doesn’t understand why he was a monster to the one person he has loved since he was 10 years old. “Kuon, why did you bring up 13 years ago? There has to be a reason that came to your mind now, so please tell me about it. The more I know the more I can help, but then you already know that.” Lory can’t help but remind Kuon that he has already pieced him back together once, he will be able to do it again if allowed.

 

              “I had my first love when I was 10 years old. Kuu made me come with him to a filming, though I don’t know why because I didn’t spend any time with him the whole time we were there. I got sick of all the ass-kissers so I decided to go explore the woods, knowing no one would really care where I went or even that I was gone. I had been wandering for about an hour when the creek I was following made a bend that I walked towards. Then I heard it, the sound of crying so sad that they couldn’t even be loud. I knew that crying because of how often I used to do it. So, I go around the bend and see a little girl all curled up against a rock as she cries into it. I hopped up onto another rock before talking to her, I just asked what was the matter but the look on her face. She looked up, got the biggest, most breathtaking smile on her face and then called me a ‘fairy’. Luckily, we were talking in Japanese so I didn’t think she was making fun of me, I was probably the first foreigner she had seen.” Kuon stops talking for a minute to try and breath as all the memories rush at him full steam, he doesn’t realize he has started to blush.

 

              Lory was trying to process everything when he noticed the blush. Then something Kuon said finally clicked… “Are you telling me that you met your first love here in Japan?” Lory knows how incredulous he sounds but that is because his romantic heart is trying to convince him of things that aren’t possible.

 

              “Yes, I am and I did. When Kuu brought me to that filming in Kyoto. I went to spend time with that little girl every day, I wanted to make her happy. She was always so sad, especially about her mother. She couldn’t figure out why she didn’t like her, but it made her so anxious to be loved that she would try anything. But she would tell me it was fine because her ‘prince’ Shotaro would take care of her. I loved her so much, but I was never going to be more than a friend because of her love for Shotaro. I wasn’t mad at her about it though, anyone who made her that happy was someone I wouldn’t take from her. Plus, I was her fairy prince Corn, so I knew I would be special to her too.” Kuon sighs and puts his face in his hands. “Had I known what he would do to the sweet love she gave him I would have made Kuu leave me there to go to school so I could stay near her and try to win her love. I wouldn’t have let him bring her here or destroy her heart. But that would have been a mistake, because then she wouldn’t have met me again here. We wouldn’t be who we are now, and I wouldn’t love her even more. Though I will admit the way we were when we first met up in Tokyo is almost comical, we hated each other and neither of us recognized the other. We had both changed too much. When I found out I was shocked, and then I wanted to know why. When Ren found out what had happened to make her change so much was the first time since we got here that he let me out so far into his conscious mind.”

 

              Lory just stared at him for a minute. “Are you telling me you met Kyoko as children, fell in love with her and stayed in love with her till now? Why didn’t you tell me? Wait! You know what happened to make her this way? Ren, you better come back out here too so I can get the full story!” Lory can’t believe how much he missed and how wrong he was, then he realizes he forgot the most important question. “Does she know that her fairy prince and her sempai are the same man?!?” Even he winced a bit at the octave he hit for that one. He then watched as Kuon’s face froze then the expression changed, but it wasn’t one of Ren’s expressions either, more like some middle ground between the two personas.

 

              “Yes, we met as children. Yes, both Kuon and Ren love her. No, she doesn’t realize that they are two halves of the same man. And I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to interfere, I wanted her to come to love me on her own… Well I guess it doesn’t matter what you do now, I proved I shouldn’t be near my important people. I always end up destroying them.” The longer he talked the quieter and sadder his voice became, till the last sentence was a heartbreaking whisper.

 

              “Ok then let’s figure out how to fix this. First though you need to sleep, you can’t think like this, and it’s the middle of the night. I will help you try and repair what you did, but first let me answer your question. You did that because regardless of how old you are you never matured passed junior high in the romance department, but unfortunately you did in the sex department. That is too big a gap to bridge without absolute trust between partners. So, the more she tried to shy away from your touch the more you felt you had to touch her. You wanted to win her back from the man who had stolen her love even after destroying her the first time, even once you realized she wasn’t talking about Sho you couldn’t stop. You had suppressed your other half for too long, so when the object of your desire showed up and told you that she needed practice to be intimate with a man you didn’t have the control left to stop him. Immaturity plus lack of control leads to hurt loved ones, but I think I need to tell you why she asked first. Ogata-san is filming that new drama you signed up for, but you already know that since you signed up for it. What you don’t know is he requested his two leads specifically because he wanted to watch them grow together. The female lead, Kagome-hime is to be played by Kyoko.” Lory saw that sink in as he watched Ren’s face fall further. He wasn’t surprised when Ren simply stood up and walked to the couch to lay down, he knew he would want time to fully comprehend what had happened.”

 

 

_9am the next day_

 

              “Ren, I know you are tired, but I have news about Kyoko if you want to hear it.” Ren’s eyes had already popped open and he was sitting up as soon as he heard her name pass through the president’s lips. “Ah, you’re awake. Good. I just finished talking to Hiou-kun, who is by the way very unhappy with you, and he gave me an update on how she is doing.” Lory opened his mouth to tell Ren what all he had been told when he saw the look in his eyes.

 

              “Why the HELL does Hiou know how her night went? Why is he informing you of her condition? He was supposed to be in love with Kanae, it’s the only reason I didn’t run him away from Kyoko’s side! If I knew she was going to run straight into his arms I should have just” He was cut off by an extremely unhappy president.

 

              “I KNOW you were not about to say you should have just finished what you started. Because that would be stupid for several reasons. The first is she would hate you if you hadn’t stopped when you did, which as far as Hiou can tell she doesn’t she is just sad to know you are disgusted by her.” The look Lory is giving Ren even keeps Kuon’s smartass mouth shut to see what else is going on. “Now be quiet while I tell you what is happening. Kyoko called Kotonami-san yesterday after she left your place. She scared Kotonami-san quite badly apparently, so Hiou took her home for her to meet Kyoko since they were filming together yesterday. However, he couldn’t leave once he saw the state she was in, he refused to leave them once he heard what happened. Apparently, she though it was all her fault for not knowing her place, for trying to change her lot in life, her greed is why IT happened to her.” Lory saw the tears forming in his eyes but wouldn’t stop, Ren needed to know the full extent of the damage he did so he would understand why he was going to ask what he was of him. “She was dead inside as she repetitively explained that it was her own fault, she didn’t show them any emotion since she saw them. Then Yashiro showed up, he apparently managed to pull her back through what Hiou called world class manipulation. He said he would have felt bad for watching her be manipulated but he made an exception due to the circumstances. Apparently, she came back to ‘the world of the living’ as Hiou called it, when Yashiro said he was fired and that’s why he wanted to hang out with Kyoko. Apparently, she had already told him to hang out with Kanae or Hiou since ‘they have value outside of work.’” The tears running down Ren’s face are accompanied by shudders and tiny sad sounds, but Lory isn’t done yet. “Apparently Maria got there right after they pulled a real response from her and asked if they should ‘curse him, kill him or fire him,’ that all being about you. Apparently, that’s what finally broke Kyoko down, oddly it was Maria that both of you needed to let go of the tight hold on your pain.” Lory would make sure to remember that in case there was a problem in the future. She spent the next 4 hours or so sobbing in Yashiro’s lap as she kept a death grip on both him and Maria. Yashiro eventually got her calmed down, and Kanae gave her a teddy bear in a suit of armor that I sent with the sleepover supplies. It was enough for her to let Sebastian take Maria home and let go of her new friend Yukihito’s shirt.” Lory saw the flinch and eye twitch that accompanied the knowledge that Kyoko was calling him by his first name.  “They had her showered and changed before she lost it again when she found out Kuu is coming,” the blood drained out of Ren’s face while the tears and pitiful sounds continued. “She apparently thought he was angry at her for her ‘shameless behavior’ and that he would disown her. Apparently Hiou took care of that one, by princess carrying her to a chair to cuddle her while they talked. And before you freak out he said he remembered from childhood that his parents said that cuddling a child in your lap as you rub their back and let them literally cry on your shoulder was the best way to comfort a distraught child. It worked to calm her enough for him to explain why Kuu was coming, though she broke his heart saying she didn’t want to lose the only family she had left. So, he had to remind her that she now has a big brother in Yukihito, a younger brother and sister in himself and Maria, and best friend in Kanae and…” Lory couldn’t help the sigh that escaped.

 

              “What!?! What else did he say?!? Did he hurt her?” Ren started quite loud but the last sentence was said quietly in the extremely scary voice Kuon uses just before blood is spilled. Which made Lory startle out of his pity party.

 

              “No, he didn’t hurt her, I just got my feeling hurt by what he said. I mean Kuu and I aren’t all that different in age. Why does Kuu get to be her dad but I have to be called her Grandfather?!?! How is that fair, at least call me an uncle.” Lory is so obviously upset for being treated like a grandfather that it lets Ren and Kuon find a balance once more.

 

              “Please don’t scare me like that, and I don’t know why you are upset when you are a grandfather. Besides she and your granddaughter treat each other like beloved sisters, so of course you get treated like her grandfather. Because for all intents and purposes you are to her heart.” Ren sees the president get a bit of sheen to his eyes when Ren says that Kyoko already feels like he is family.

 

              “Oh, I hadn’t thought of the fact that she might like me to be her grandfather… I guess I don’t mind if she is happy with it, plus I will get another granddaughter to spoil!” The president is getting quite excited about it now. But Ren pulls him back to his job of telling Ren how she is doing.

 

              “Wait before you rush off to spoil her I need to know what else happened, you can’t end with her sitting in his lap.” Ren quietly informs him, though it kind of pisses him off when he hears the president snicker at him. Lory noticed that explaining Kyoko’s feelings towards him as family calmed Ren enough to let the tears stop.

             

“Well he apparently brings her quite a bit of happiness when he whispers to her that Kanae will be her sister-in-law in a few years because Hiou is going to marry her, so Kyoko whispers back that she will help him plan it. They then ate the dinner I sent over and then all settled on a giant pallet in the living room to watch Disney’s ‘Mulan’ before bed. Though she did confuse them before it started by declaring Mushu her spirit animal, since none of them had seen it besides her. She and Kanae were still asleep when I called, though Yukihito and Hiou were making them breakfast in bed, or at least the pallet version of that.” Lory said with a laugh, then he saw the look on Ren’s face and laughed again. Then he saw the change happen again. He isn’t sure which thing brought Kuon closer to the top again so he decides to wait and watch.

 

              “So, both Hiou and Yukihito,” Ren knows he is sneering with Kuon’s expressions and voice but can’t stop, “slept not only in the same room but the same bed as MY Kyoko. Tell me why I shouldn’t be angry right now because I honestly can’t remember.” He started to slip back towards Ren so Lory takes pity and answers him

 

              “Because you already hurt Kyoko, you shouldn’t attack her brothers and piss her off. Not to mention this was her first sleep over with more than just Kanae apparently, so she was very excited. Not to mention those two are already itching for a fight with you over the damage to Kyoko, so don’t show them you truly can’t be trusted. You are going to need to earn the trust of every single person who cares about that girl, and you can’t do it with force. You have to prove that you won’t hurt her ever again.” Lory makes sure to drive home just how serious this is to Ren with one last point. “The first person you will need to start with is her father, Hizuri Kuu.”

 

              “Fuck, I am so dead.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I am double posting today, since I managed two chapters today. The next one is back with Kyoko, and the twists are strong in that one. So everyone hang on for the ride. 
> 
> If you have any questions, critiques or criticisms please let me know in the comments. Preferably more constructive than "your writing sucks so please stop posting" I deleted that one but it was still obnoxious. Anywho... I hope you all keep enjoying the depraved corners of my mind. 
> 
> And to answer a question that was asked by a friend who reads this, yes the anxiety and depression symptoms are realistic. Kyoko is already know to sort of shut down if things are too bad, and that unfortunately falls in line with my childhood reactions to life spiraling out of control. I tend to shut down and refer to what my brother jokingly calls the default setting. I respond, move and function but the person I am seems to be gone and all that's left is the memories and body of a human. I had a friend here say that was a little too strong for most people so sorry if that screwed with some of y'all. Hopefully you all keep coming back in spite of how dark this story got/can get. I promise I am not just torturing you all and Kyoko for no reason.


	7. All the King's Horses and All the King's Men, Put You Back Together to Wait for Him

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoko and her newly acknowledged family prep for landfall of hurricane Kuu, plus they make some headway on the relationships between them all. Kyoko is glad to see everyone get closer, but still worries about seeing her dad. As usual for Kyoko, simple things cause chaos around her so she has a wild ride ahead of her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit long but I think all the different interactions are important so I didn't want to cut any of it, the whole chapter is still under 5000 words so I am calling it a win. lol
> 
> This is were things start to progress so I hope no one is too upset with the direction it's taking. Thank you all again for coming to read the weird story that runs through my head, I really appreciate all the support I have received.

              “Kanae, wake up. I have breakfast ready for you and Kyoko. I figured you probably want to eat and then get yourself and the apartment ready before Hizuri-san gets here.” Hiou is trying to be quiet so that Kanae can wake up and freak out before Kyoko is awake to witness the stress of her father’s arrival on her best friend. Kanae had been trying to wiggle away from the hand shacking her shoulder till the name Hizuri is said.

 

              “SHIT! I have to get ready, what time is it? Dammit, it’s noon Hiou! Why did you let me sleep in? Oh no…” She puts her head in her hands, feeling a little better as her mind clears of the fog of sleep and now she can think. But then her blood freezes, she hears the saddest thing.

 

              “Sorry Moko-san, I will leave so dad doesn’t come here. I’m really sorry, I didn’t ask him to come honest… Well I guess it doesn’t really matter that I didn’t ask…” She would have continued but Kanae had lunged across the pallet and slammed her hand over her mouth, she had a slightly crazed look to her eyes that worried Kyoko. She isn’t used to seeing Kanae show so much emotion so blatantly.

 

              “DON’T! Just don’t. I will not sit here and listen to you apologize for something you didn’t do. Nothing that happened in the last 24 hours is your fault, and I want you to stop acting like it is. We are all adults or close enough that it doesn’t matter, even Hiou and Maria are too mature to be treated as children. We are all aware of the consequences of out actions and took them regardless because we love you and we are worried about you. So, will you please stop throwing my love back in my face as if it is worthless in the face of your ‘responsibilities.’” She sneered the last word but almost everything else she said was said in a heartbreaking voice of loneliness that worried Kyoko almost as much as the tears that were running down Moko’s face by the end of it.

 

              Hiou couldn’t stand to see Kanae cry so he did the same thing for her as he did for Kyoko yesterday. He picked her up in a princess carry, and brought her over to the couch to sit on his lap as he rubbed her back and ran his hand through her hair. Kyoko started to talk then saw Hiou shake his head at her the tiniest bit before he started talking. “Kanae it’s ok. Deep breaths, just let it go for a bit. I don’t mind you crying on me. In fact, if we are honest, and the look Kyoko is giving me says I HAVE to be, I am glad to be your strength. You never really need me for anything, even though I desperately want to do something for you, anything. I finally got to princess carry the most important woman in my life, and now I get to help her the same way I helped my sister yesterday. I’m sorry, don’t tense up like that. I am not asking for anything but what you were already doing in the last few years, just spend time with me and maybe let me help you when you need it. That’s all I’m asking for. Sorry to spring this on you now but I am emotionally exhausted from the last 24 hours and I couldn’t keep it to myself anymore with you in my lap. So please don’t run form me, that’s all I’m asking for.” Hiou knows he let his mouth run away with him, and while he is sorry he sprung this on her after 24 hours of emotional turmoil He isn’t sorry that he finally said it, especially when he sees the look Kyoko is giving him. That smile could probably light all of Tokyo for days. He decided that Kanae should peek before it was gone so he whispered to her, “Kanae, try to peek at Kyoko. If my confession did nothing else, that smile would make you avoiding me almost worth it.” She quickly peeks then turns her head into his chest and nuzzles him in what he assumes is silent thanks. He refuses to entertain the idea that she just liked touching him this intimately.

 

              “I’m sorry Kyoko.” Kanae turns towards her to talk to her, but surprisingly (for Hiou) doesn’t get out of Hiou’s lap while she talks. “I know you didn’t have anything to do with Kuu deciding to show up at my place, I would assume the president called him given how frantic he was about trying to get through to your phone last night. I would be more upset if your dad had heard you were upset and hurt and didn’t drop everything to come see you. In fact, I may have yelled at him to just stay away from you if he cared that little the next time we saw him.” She is still letting her emotions show, so luckily, she doesn’t see Yukihito creep backwards into the kitchen before she can see him. Hiou does though and sends him a smile and a grateful look. “I am just on edge and worried, and I was just waking up so I panicked about the fact that a world-famous actor will be here any minute and I haven’t eaten, showered, gotten dressed, or picked up the apartment.” She sighs and just admits to herself it probably won’t happen.

 

              “You don’t need to do any of that. He hasn’t texted he landed yet, which he promised to do when they boarded yesterday. Plus, while you ladies eat and get ready Yukihito and I are going to cleanup the kitchen and living room. We will be ready well before he gets here.” He checks his phone which is buzzing. “Speak of the devil, they just hit the runway and will be here in a little over an hour if they get through customs quickly. Which he says they should since they only brought their carry-ons.”

 

              “Moko lets eat so we can get ready. Knowing dad, he will speed to get here sooner.” Kyoko doesn’t want to upset her again but figures she deserves a warning that they will most likely be early.

 

              “Ok, lets eat so Hiou and Yukihito can clean.” Kanae finally smiles for the first time since she woke up, without feeling like it was a surprise to do so. Maybe things will turn around today, well even if they don’t she will make sure that Kyoko is safe this time.

 

 

              The door bell rings and Yukihito goes to answer it since he knows all the children are worried about meeting Kuu, even if the reason was very different for each. He checks the peephole to make certain of who it is first then opens the door. “Hello sir,” He never gets farther than that with his greeting.

 

              “You are definitely not Uesugi-kun, I see his dad often enough to see pictures of the kid. So, who are you and why are you here with my daughter?” Kuu is pissed and he knows he shouldn’t take it out on this man, but he needs to get some of the anger out before he gets near Kyoko so she won’t think he is mad at her. The girl has enough trouble with parents who don’t love their children without having her foster dad act like he is angry to see her too.

 

              “That is an easy answer. I’m here because she is my little sister and she needed me, I love her so I dropped everything and came. I wont leave till she tells me to, so yell all you like but you WILL stay in the hallway till you calm down. She doesn’t need another man she cares for to get in a huff and throw a tantrum. You can knock again when you have settled down.” Yukihito then shut the door in the man’s astonished face and threw the lock. He turned around to see the children all looking at him with various shocked expressions. “Um… can you all just say what ever it is you want to say? The expressions aimed at me right now are a bit confusing.

 

              “I can’t believe you just shut the door in Hizuri Kuu’s face!” Kanae is the first to speak and the most incredulous. “You may not be able to get another job in entertainment because of what you just did.” Kanae is not sure if she is impressed with his guts or astonished at his stupidity… on second thought she guesses it’s probably both.

 

              “Why are you so willing to not only claim her as family but to go to bat for her against anyone and everyone? I know why I do it, and why Kanae does it, but you are a bit of an oddity to me.” Hiou admits quietly.

 

              These two are closely followed by the most powerful statement. “I love you too Yukihito-san.” Everyone in the room stops moving, stops breathing, and for a second three of them stop thinking.

 

              “Of course, you do Kyoko, real family loves each other no matter what. I am glad you love me too though, even better is you said it. I think I am the first person to hear those words since the first idiot, aren’t I?” Yukihito has a look of such happiness and hope that Kyoko answers out of impulse.

 

              “Yes, I haven’t really said that to a person directly since then. I was afraid that I would be a fool again, but even when I didn’t say it I still felt it. That was why yesterday hurt so much. I hadn’t said it to him, but I thought he felt the same. I made the same mistake again, only this time it hurt worse for some reason.” Kyoko answers him quietly but seriously and everyone in the room feels the weight of the statement. Yukihito is across the living room to hug his new sister in seconds, he always wanted a sister and he can’t imagine a better one than this.

 

              “To answer what you said Kanae I did it for two reasons. The first is Kyoko is more important than work, the second is Hizuri Kuu is supposed to be unbelievably thoughtful in how he uses his fame. He won’t use it to pick on someone who opposed him.” He then turns his head towards Hiou without letting Kyoko out of his hug, she doesn't seem to be in a hurry to stop it either so he just works around it. “And to answer your question I am quick to claim her since I care for her and I now know she cares for me too after her reaction to me yesterday. The second question is foolish, why wouldn’t I try to protect my little sister from anyone and everyone who might hurt her. I would be a terrible brother if I left her to face troubles alone.” He then ignores the two and hugs his little sister tighter, so happy to have family to care for. But even happier that his idiot best friend didn’t break this sweet girl. He will hold on to hope that maybe this can all be salvaged. He is so deep in thought he doesn’t hear the new knock on the door, so Hiou goes to answer.

 

              “He is busy so let me second his statement, if you hurt her with a tantrum we will all do our best to make your life hell.” He would have gone on but he noticed that the woman next to him is holding him by his ear. Hiou assumes this is his wife, and her first sentence confirms it.

 

              “Pardon my husband. He is concerned about his daughter and lost his good sense for a moment. Don’t worry he will be on his best behavior or you will have to get in line to torture him. He is not allowed to put his pain above that of the person who was actually hurt.” After a final hard look at her husband she lets his ear go, no one but Kuu will ever know she was the one who knocked on the door the second time after chewing him out for being an inconsiderate child when Kyoko needs her dad. “If you don’t mind could we please come in and check on Kyoko? I have not gotten to meet her yet, and while I wish it were under happier circumstances I am very excited to meet my daughter.” Hiou steps back and lets them enter, forgetting to warn them about the scene in the living room.

 

              Kuu goes to run over and rip the man away from his daughter but stops at the hand on his arm. Julie simply clears her throat and asks “is this an inconvenient time to speak to you Kyoko? We can come back if you like, what do you need us to do?”

 

              Kyoko and Yukihito both jump at the new voice that spoke so near to them that they don't recognize. They pull apart and turn to look at the new comers, though Yukihito sticks close to her side in case she gets overwhelmed. “No ma’am. You don’t need to come back, we were just having a sibling moment.” Kyoko says while staring at her shoes. She is trying not to hyperventilate but mothers are never a happy thing for her.

 

              “You can call me Mom or Julie dear. My Kuu loves you more than words can explain, and he tells me about you often. I feel as if I already know you, and I already love you dear girl. Plus, I am told you might be willing to have mother daughter shopping trips with me, my Kuon never wanted to go shopping with me. I hope that maybe you will come to like me too.” Julie almost sounded shy for the last sentence, and everyone but Kuu is staring at her a bit dumbfounded. Then Kyoko breaks the silence and the ice.

 

              “As long as we go to eat and have ice cream I am ok going shopping with you, as long as you don’t spend too much on me. And before you do the same thing as dad just know I mean my idea of too much not his.” Kyoko smiles at Julie, hoping that maybe she will get a mom even if she lost _him_. Her smile fades a bit at that. Kuu can’t take it any longer and just does what he has wanted to do since he heard what had happened.

 

              “My sweet girl, what did that idiot Tsuruga do? How could anyone not treat you like the best thing to ever happen to him? Because I can guarantee you would be.” He says after picking her up in a bear hug and just holding her close. He kisses the top of her head and then walks over to the couch. For the second time in about 12 hours Kyoko ends up in a mans lap as he rubs her back while she cries into his shoulder. This time is easier to bear since she knows she isn’t alone, and will always have family. “Are you finally willing to tell me what that idiot Shotaro did? I have a feeling that is the reason that you-know-who hurt you so badly this time. I am hoping that talking about it will help you heal some, so tell me everything.”

 

              So, Kyoko starts at the beginning. “When I was little I never had a father, and my mother hated me completely. As a child I never knew why, so I tried hard to please her even though it never worked. She would often leave me with the Fuwa’s for months at a time, which meant that I got to spend every day with Sho. Back then it was a good thing, at least to me. The Fuwa’s were training me to work in the inn with them, though I didn’t realize till I started acting that they were training me to be the Okami. They cared for me and wanted me as their daughter-in-law, though that was the reason that Sho decided to come to Tokyo and bring me with him…” She tells them everything, with no filter and no holding back. She tells them about training till her fingers bled, about never asking for anything since she was already a burden, and about how she thought Sho would grow up to be her prince. She told them what it was like running here with him, thinking he cared for her. About working so many jobs to pay for the fancy apartment he wanted and about what he said when he threw her away like yesterday’s garbage.

 

              “That’s why it hurt so much to realize how angry Tsuruga-san was to have to touch me. I already know that I am not attractive, but I didn’t need it thrown in my face so blatantly by the second person to ever get that close to my heart.” She just realized what she said. “Shoot! None of you will repeat that! Got it?!? I am serious not a word to anyone outside of this room. The president knows but no one else and I want to keep it that way.” She can’t believe that she blurted that out, then again after two or three hours straight of telling them about her life without leaving anything out it isn’t all that surprising to blurt it out.

 

              “Kyoko, does he know how you feel? Because if he did that knowing how you feel then I am obliged to kick his ass as your brother!” Hiou is outraged that after all that, she was mistreated by the man she loves again. If Tsuruga knew she loved him and still acted that way then both he and Sho need to be beat to hell and back.

 

              “I can tell you he doesn’t. Though I won’t tell you why I am so sure of that, but I will say that I don’t think he would willingly hurt her like that if he knew. Then again, I didn’t think he could be so callous anyways, so there is a small possibility. I still vote for a beat down though, can’t ignore that sort of insult to my baby sister.” Yukihito is sure that Ren didn’t know, if he did he would have been ecstatic and trying to woo her instead of acting like an idiot.

 

              “I agree with Yukihito about whether or not he knows. But again, vote for a beat down.” Kanae is quick to agree. All three of them look at each other with firm and slightly scary expressions, but all Kuu can see is the love behind the words and actions.

 

              “Children maybe plan your beat down after we hear the other side. I am going to have that idiot brought here by the president. He had messages waiting for me when we landed, and he says that there was a grave miscommunication and that he would like to clear it up.” He holds up a hand to stop the outrage that was about to pour out of those three. “Neither Lory nor I think it excuses his action or words, and we especially don’t think it make up for them. But we thought it might help Kyoko heal if she knew that it wasn’t what she thought it was. If you don’t want to see him or hear about it right now Kyoko just tell me and I will make sure you don’t see him till you want to.” He knows this would be very hard for Kyoko, but thinks it might make it easier to understand what happened and move on from this new pain.

 

              “Ok.” Kyoko replies in a slow quiet voice. “If you think that hearing this will make it a little better then I trust you dad. You wouldn’t let them bother me or hurt me without a reason, so I will do it. But I want my brothers there and Kanae if she doesn’t have work. We can figure out a different place to do it, since the president will turn this into a circus.” She sounds worried but her face shows confidence in her dad’s judgement. Until she sees him crying. “Oh god, what did I do? I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to upset you.” She is starting to panic when he just scoops her into his arms and cries into her shoulder.

 

              “That is the first time you have ever called me dad outside of an act. Thank you! Thank you for letting me be your dad. I love you very much and I hope you will stay my little girl forever.” Kuu says with a voice thick with tears. Then he feels tears in his hair as she hugs him back, he hopes they are happy tears. He just waits like that for her to speak so he can find out if it’s good or bad.

 

              “This is the first time you have called me your daughter instead of son. I am so glad to have a dad, a real one. I never had one before, but I always wanted one as a little girl.” Kyoko just hugs him a little tighter after she finishes speaking then waits for his tears to stop. Once they do and he lets her go she grabs her Teddy Bear that Moko gave her last night, she needs an anchor in all this chaos. She then decides to be brave one bore time before Ren comes and turns to Julie-san. “If you are ok with it, can I really call you mom? I always had things I wanted to do with a mom, so if you don’t mind can we do those while you are here?” The pure longing and hope almost brings Julie to tears but she knows that Kyoko probably can’t take any more crying right now. So, she does the next best thing, she walks over and hugs her.

 

              “Of course, you can call me mom, I was hoping that one day you might come to care for me the way you do Kuu. I wanted a daughter so badly, but we never managed to have another child. So, I would love for you to treat me as your mom, and have me do all the mom-things you dreamed about.” Julie just hugs her a little tighter then let’s go.

 

              “Ok dad, since my whole family will be here… well except Maria since I don’t want her anymore involved than she already was. Oh sorry, got distracted. I would like you to call and ask him to bring Tsuruga-san to explain to me what happened, so I can stop asking myself over and over how it went so wrong.” As soon as she is done talking Kuu kisses her forehead then pulls out his phone.

 

              “She seems to be doing ok so just bring the idiot to Kotonami’s apartment. She wants her whole family, minus a little sister, to be here to give her support. So, tell him that he won’t have a warm welcome, but Julie will make sure we don’t spill any blood.” … “Yeah you try telling Julie she can’t come when I rush out of the country to check on my daughter who could be heard crying across the room from me without my phone on speaker. There was no chance that she wouldn’t come to meet and take care of her daughter.” … “Yes, Kyoko knows the Julie wants to be her mom. She is actually going to be doing mother-daughter stuff later this week.” …” Just bring the idiot and tell him that he has to tell her EVERYTHING!” The emphasis on everything makes Kyoko’s ears perk up. She looks around to see it caught everyone else’s attention too.

 

 

              “Ok, I will tell him Kuu. I am going to tell him what is happening and what is expected of him. I will call if he decides he can’t do it. See you soon.” He hangs up then sighs. He knew they would have to do it this way as soon as he heard of Kuon/Ren’s past with Kyoko. He was even more sure when Ren told him what Fuwa had done to the poor girl that she needed to know everything, her trust wouldn’t take another breach.

             

“Ok Ren, we are going to see Kyoko. But let me warn you that everyone but Maria will be there from the little family that was named last night, and they all are really pissed at you right now. The hard part isn’t that though. You have to tell her everything, including Kuon and who his parents are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed that, and are excited to see what happens to our little group next. And yes I am aware that the couch got a lot f cuddle time logged but whatever. It fit the story and characters well so hopefully they don't wear the couch out with all the cuddle time that will be needed during and after their talk with Ren. 
> 
> I am prepping for the end of the semester here in Japan so sorry if I get crazy erratic with the upload schedule.
> 
> I also super appreciate the comments and encouragement. But please don't be offended if I don't respond to it. I am a little uncomfortable accepting praise of any kind so it is hard to reply to someone who is telling me they like what I did or that I did a good job. Sorry again, but please feel free to leave one as I will definitely read it.


	8. Please Don't Hate Me When You Find Out Who I Am

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoko hears The secrets they want her to know, but is she really ready to hear them? Will they just hurt her more, or will this help her to heal from all the heartbreaks?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so this is another incredibly sad chapter... sorry I know I was saying they were almost done but the story decided differently. I tried writing it with less angst but it came off feeling flat and lifeless to me so I scrapped it and started over. Everybody just hang in there because I have the next few chapters written and the sadness dials WAY back pretty soon. This chapter is huge compared to my others, its over 5000 words and that is after I took part of it to make the next chapter... I think my high school English teacher was right, I use 50 words where sometimes 5 will do.

“WHAT?!?! You know I can’t do that! I could never tell her that the fairy prince she adored as a child grew up to be a monster, much less a monster who hurt her. And whether it was intentional or not I did hurt her, it doesn’t matter why. The only reason I was willing to explain it to her at all was to help her move on. She would know she needed to avoid me from now on and so would everyone else.” He looks terrified as he says one last thing. “You of all people know Kuon should be dead, not haunting that poor girl.”

 

              “If you can’t do it tell me now, I can call Kuu and tell him that you refuse. Though you have to understand he may very well tell her if you don’t. He won’t be willing to lose a second child.” Lory looks at him in a combination of pity and understanding as he tries to convey how little that would solve.

 

              “HE CAN’T DO THAT!!!!! She will lose her family again! This time she would have been given them on a silver platter to have them ripped away again, and even if she stayed near them she would always have to wonder. She would forever second guess why they wanted her, because they knew we were close or because she was a daughter they could love. You know as well as I that that would be cruel beyond words, to destroy the one thing she ever wanted. All she ever asked for was a family that would love her, that has been her wish since I met her when she was 6 years old. Please don’t take that from her…” Ren started out outraged and horrified, but he ended pleading as he cried yet again.

 

              “They won’t hurt her and Kuu will make sure she understands what it means for their relationship but if it will make you feel better…” he pulled out his phone and dialed a number without looking. “Kuu you need to make sure she knows that no matter what Ren says it doesn’t change what you feel for her, and no matter what happens between them it won’t affect your relationship at all. If you do that I will drag the idiot to you, though its up to him if he talks or not.” He hangs up without saying goodbye. “Now are you going to go down the private elevator to the garage and take the town car waiting for us, or am I calling security to drag you out the front door? I won’t let you promise her something to take it back after she agrees. She has been hurt enough. Wouldn’t you agree?”

 

              “Shit…”

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

 

              “Ok he is on his way here but there are some things I need to tell you first. I told you about my son, and that I didn’t notice how bad off he was until it was too late. You remember?” Kuu is a little worried about this but agrees with the president that he needs to be the one to tell her this.

 

              “Yes… Why are we talking about this now?” Kyoko looks at the others in the room and feels bad that her dad has to talk about this in front of people who are strangers to him, even if they are family to her. Then she noticed he was staring at her with that uncomfortable look, not the others. “Dad why are you bringing him up now? What does that have to do with Tsuruga-san?” The look on his face was starting to scare her, that look always preceded hurtful things.

 

              “I want to make sure you understand, that nothing I am about to say makes me any less your dad. I don’t love you any less nor was it all a lie, I simply didn’t tell you someone else’s secret.” Kuu took one more deep breath and then just started telling her what she needed to know. “I have been friends with Lory for a long time, he is Kuon’s godfather in fact. So, when my son was broken, I asked him for help. I had tried to piece him back together but I was one of the original problems so I couldn’t help after Rick died, because even though he didn’t blame anyone but himself I felt it was my fault.”

 

              *GASP* “I had to have misheard, you didn’t say Rick… did you? Please tell me you didn’t?” Kyoko started to cry but when Kuu reached for her she flinched, so Kanae slapped his hand away from her best friend.

 

              “I may not understand what just happened but I think you need to get OFF my couch. You can finish from over there somewhere, but you don’t get to touch her after saying something that hurts her.” Kanae is fuming, she just can’t figure out why people wont stop hurting Kyoko. She is an amazing and talented girl, so why do people always hurt her? “You knew this would upset her, and while she is upset before you expected you don’t get to act like you are sorry for saying it. You wanted to tell her this knowing it would hurt her, so here you go.” Kanae glares at Kuu before looking at Kyoko’s brothers to see what their problem is. Then she sees why they haven’t come to comfort Kyoko yet, they are both slowly advancing on Kuu with looks of pure rage. They have had to witness the after math of the last man whom she trusted betraying her, they are here for the betrayal this time and are going to make him pay. “You two can kick his ass later, your sister needs you now so get over your damn egos!” Men are idiots.

 

              “Sorry Kyoko, come her kiddo.” Is all Yukihito says before he picks her up and puts her in his lap so that she can have all three of them right next to her. He doesn’t know what exactly is happening but he is pretty sure it is going to get worse. The look on Hizuri-san’s face tells him that much.

 

              “Sorry sis, I will remember to comfort first then avenge in the future. Thank you for the lesson in how to take care of the important women in my life.” Hiou says this almost glibly but sees Kyoko smile because of it so he guesses it worked how he wanted.

 

              “Ok… you wanted to tell me this Hizuri-san, so finish it. Then you can stop lying, because I can’t even tell what was a lie anymore. Honestly, I don’t know why I’m surprised that you would do this too, men in my life always do their best to hurt me. So, finish it, please.” Kyoko sounds like a sad little girl again but there is a hint of fire and vengeance in her voice that gives her best friend hope on how she will fair after this.

 

              Kuu is crying openly again after she calls him by last name but just takes a deep breath and then continues, as if he knows she won’t accept any excuses right now. “I asked my best friend for help to fix my son, but instead of waiting till Julie and I were both home he picked him up immediately. Julie was away for work at the time, she wouldn’t speak to me for months after. We waited and waited for him to contact us, but he never did. So, I contacted Lory after 2 years of waiting, and we were told that Kuon didn’t exist anymore. He had become a new man, who was Japanese and would live under another name. That he wouldn’t contact or see us till he had accomplished his goal of being the #1 actor in all Japan, so no one could say he was riding my coat tails. I didn’t contact him again, but when I came to Japan for the first time since he left I had to check in on how he was. Lory told me I couldn’t force him to see me, but I could make him want to see me.”

 

              “Apparently my son had a kohai he took care of, and seemed to care about. Lory was sure it was love, but I was fairly certain it wasn’t once he told me his reasoning. What I was sure of was that if my son felt protective of the girl then I would use that to make him ask to see me. So, I picked on the girl after she was assigned to look after me during my stay, or at least that was the plan. I couldn’t get under her skin, she wouldn’t let me upset her. She treated me like a bad drunk and put up with everything with a smile on her face. I had a harder and harder time being mean to that strong, amazing girl. And then she needed help on building a character, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. I saw how hard she was working and how confused she was so I completely forgot about my original goal for being around that girl and decided to help her. I had her play my son, whom I missed terribly in the hopes that it would help. Then something strange happened, we ran into my son during that girls act and she taunted my son. He was understandably confused when I called her by his name and she called me dad, especially when she just ran off after me instead of explaining to him. Strangely enough, it wasn’t until I gave up on using that girl to get to see my son that he was outraged enough to seek me out.” Kuu wiped his eyes and looked Kyoko dead in the face to tell her the last part, which was easier to do since she was staring at him open mouthed. “I decided that I loved that dear sweet girl, especially after she told me a little about her mom. I wanted to give her the world and make sure no one ever hurt her, entirely forgetting that hurting her was my original goal. I kept that girl as my own and she accepted me as her father, then I got a call that she had been hurt by the person who should be protecting her.” He walked over to crouch in front of Kyoko and take her hand. “I came to see who hurt my daughter who I love dearly, no matter who hurt her I can’t forgive them making her cry. I never meant to hurt you baby girl. I just wanted to be the father you never had, and maybe give you a family to call your own. But I couldn’t tell you about my son, because that was his story to tell and I wouldn’t betray his trust. I realize now that it meant betraying yours and there is nothing I can do to take it back. All I ask is that you give me a chance to be the dad you deserve, with no secrets this time.” Kuu held his breath and waited to see what would happen, he wasn’t expecting the reaction he got.

 

              “I love you too, you big idiot!” Kyoko cried as she threw herself at her dad, finally understanding that he truly didn’t mean to hurt her. He simply didn’t want to tell a story that wasn’t his to tell, because no matter what that wasn’t his secret to share. “Thank you for being the one to tell me, and for making sure I know you love me for me and not because of him. Thank you for loving me, and for taking my side when I got hurt… just… thank you.” The last part was said with such relief that everyone knew that he was forgiven.

 

              “I don’t mean to intrude but Hizuri-san your phone has been ringing for quite some time now, and a minute or so ago Kyoko’s started to ring as well. You might want to pick up, at least one of you.” Hiou hated to break up the moment but as frantic as they person calling was it had to be important. No sooner than he finished thinking that it started to ring again.

 

              Kuu looked at the screen and then immediately picked up. “You better be calling to tell me you are here and waiting for an invite up or I am going to be rather annoyed at the breaking of a touching moment… *sigh* Fine, come on up. We will be waiting…. Just a heads up but three different people just cracked their knuckles and headed for the door so it will be a less than civil welcome.” Kuu was about to say something else then he glanced at Julie, he couldn’t help but smile.

 

              “I expect all three of you children to be back over there by Kyoko in the next 5 seconds or I will whip you like my own children. That young man is coming to explain himself so you can’t yell at him till he is done. No matter what you may not spill blood, especially since two of you are young performers that would be ruined if word got out.” She said it with a polite tone of voice and a smile but everyone could hear the steel in her voice so all three quickly turned around to get back to Kyoko. Kyoko couldn’t help but smile at such a mom like scene happening between her new mom, brothers and best friend, it was rather amusing to see them all scurry back.

 

              *Doorbell* “Perfect timing. I will get the door, you all get situated since this could take quite some time.” Was all she said before heading to the door, never once feeling the need to check that they were doing as they were told. “Come on in, they aren’t going to do anything right now. But depending on how this goes you may need to stand behind me once this is over so they don’t destroy their career’s by attacking you.”

 

              “Hello Julie, thank you for keeping the kids under control. I know they were most likely actually out for blood, so thank you for stopping them from doing something we would all regret.” Was all president Lory said before stepping into the room past Julie. He walked into the room to see how the kids were doing and was met with three pairs of rather hostile eyes, which he had sort of expected since they would have thought it was Ren coming in. Their faces and glares didn’t relax but he was more than able to handle the looks.

 

              “Come in you foolish boy, you have a lot to answer for but we will start with her. The others in the room have our complete trust on keeping everything quiet so you need to tell her everything.” Julie tells him before turning to walk back into the room, leaving him to gather his courage before he enters.

 

              Ren knew that everyone in the room was mad at him for one reason or another, but he wasn’t prepared to walk in and find Kyoko on Yashiro’s lap cuddling with Hiou who was sitting next to her. He had to come to a complete stop so he wouldn’t lose his temper, but he didn’t want them touch Kyoko. He then noticed that his parents were sitting off to one side of the four members of the little family, and were already holding each other’s hands in a white knuckled grip. He then finally looked at her face, only to see her looking back at him so sadly that he could hardly breath. The red puffy eyes with dark circles under them told him her night hadn’t gone much better than his as far as pain went. Then she said something that stopped his heart, “So I hear you have things to tell me, Kuon.”

 

              “Kyoko-chan, I have so much to tell you so please listen to everything before you tell me to get out. I won’t be able to talk about this a second time.” He just waited to see her response, then she nodded at him and he had no more excuses not to talk. So, he started at the beginning. “My real name is Hizuri Kuon, and my whole childhood was filled with adults who wanted to use me in one way or another. Even my parents had something they wanted from me, they wanted to play house when they got together so I was always required to be there waiting to play house. I was proud of my family when I was little but the older I got the more I realized I was just a prop for people to use, never a person to be loved and cared for. I had mostly given up on having anyone care about me as anything other than my father’s child when he dragged me to a filming here in Japan, even though he didn’t have any time to spend with me he still demanded I be here. I got sick of all the ass-kissers by day two so I decided to sneak out and explore the woods, and what I found there has kept me alive ever since.”

 

              He took a deep breath and then glanced up at her face from where he had been looking at the floor, he couldn’t read the look she had but it was powerful. He looked back at the floor quickly before he lost his nerve to continue. “I was wandering next to a stream I found when I heard crying, the soul weary kind where you can’t even get loud. I recognized it from the echoes that haunted my room when I was younger, so I quickly turned the bend in the river to see who was crying so sadly. There was a little girl, probably 5 or 6 years old, crying against a rock. It hurt to see something so familiar to me happening to someone else, so I decided to check on her. I stepped closer and asked if she was ok, and then when she looked up she changed my world. She smiled at me like I was the best thing ever and called me a fairy.” He could hear crying now but couldn’t look up to see who it was. “So, I introduced myself, and she misheard my name as ‘Corn’ and decided I was a fairy prince. She told me her name was Kyoko-chan, and that she out here so she didn’t bother people when she cried. I decided that I wanted to make that little girl smile, forever if I could. So, every day we would meet and play in that glen beside the stream, but it wasn’t all happy moments. She told me about her mother who was never happy with her, and being left with the neighbors at their inn all the time, even about how all the girls at school hated her. The girls hated her because of her childhood crush, the son of the couple who watched her. He was overly familiar with her and no one else so they tortured her and he never noticed. But she loved him dearly and told me it was fine, because she got to spend every day with her prince Shotaro.” He heard three identical gasps of horror as they realized what exactly he was saying.

 

              “Even at 10 years old I hated the boy who left her to her pain rather than notice. In fact, she started to come to the forest to cry because ‘he’ was uncomfortable when she cried and she didn’t want to bother him. But I didn’t begrudge him her love since it made her happy, anything that made her smile like that was something I wanted her to always have. I didn’t mean I wasn’t jealous though, I loved her quite a bit but there would never be any place for me in her heart. So, I stayed as her fairy prince. She told me her problems outright, but I had to be careful about mine. I still told her as much as I could without destroying her dreams, mostly about how the weight of my parents’ shadows was slowly crushing me. And the reach of my father’s hands destroyed my wings as soon as I thought I could fly.”

 

              “She told me that she would always be here for me, and that I should come back to see her anytime the fairy kingdom was too hard to stay in. But by this point Kuu was done filming and I only had a few days left, so I spent as much time with her as I could. When I told her, I had to leave it made her come unglued. She broke down begging me to stay with tears in her eyes, asking how she was supposed to talk to me if I left. She wanted to write me letters, but that would mean telling her I was a human boy instead of a fairy prince. So, I gave her my treasure, a stone that changed colors in the light. I told her that if she held it in her hands and told it all her problems it would take her sadness away. That she could talk to it and I would hear her, even though she wouldn’t be able to hear me back. That I would watch over her, but would most likely never get to visit again as I would be too old for that magic soon.”

 

              “So, I left my first love safe in Kyoto, knowing she would end up with that idiot who didn’t deserve her because I couldn’t imagine he would be blind to how amazing she was for long. If I had known what would happen to her because I left her alone I would have made them let me stay so I could win her. But I was a young fool who thought she would be fine without me, just like everyone else. When we left I tried to follow in my father’s footsteps, but I was just some half-breed riding on his father’s coattails as far as the rest of the world was concerned. I was fired, mocked and beaten but I wouldn’t let them beat me. Till it got to be too much, and I started using the martial arts I had learned to take out my frustration on others. At first, I just got even with those who hurt me, but eventually I would use anything as an excuse to fight. Even my parents didn’t care, they had more important things to worry about than me since it never got out to the press it didn’t matter, just like me.”

 

              “My best friend Rick was trying to get me to straighten out and make something of my life. I wasn’t up to listening most days though. The only time I felt alive anymore was when I was making someone else wish they were dead or invisible. I reveled in their pain and fear, since it proved to me I was more than a shadow of my parents. After a while I started getting into worse and worse fights, Rick realized that someone would end up dead if I didn’t stop. He had actually used those words a couple times, but I ignored him so I wouldn’t lose the one thing that proved I existed. One-day Rick broke up one of my fights, but one guy shoved his girlfriend out of the way and tried to take off. Rick had almost calmed me but when I heard her cry out I was lost to the bloodlust again. So, I took off after him with Rick hot on my tail trying to stop me. The guy ran across a street and without even checking I ran after him, Rick ran after me. I made it across the street, Rick never did. He was hit by a car and died in a pool of his own blood long before an ambulance showed up. The whole time Tina told me that I was a murderer who killed my only friend, and I knew she was right. Everything in me died then, and nothing to put all the pieces back together to even try to and bring me back to life. I knew that I should have died, that if I didn’t exist Rick would be fine and it’s not like my parents live would have changed without me. Except maybe they would have been easier since they wouldn’t need to act like they wanted me or cared.”

 

              He could hear his mother sobbing but he couldn’t stop, now that he had started he wanted her to know everything before he disappeared from her life. He realized now that he would have to disappear again to make sure she was safe from him. Then her voice stopped him. “Kuon, I can see what you are thinking. If you finish telling me these things and disappear then you will prove I’m right, no one will ever stay with me. So, you must decide if you want to try to be a friend again, since I can tell you at least thought of me like that at one point.” Kyoko’s voice was soft and quiet but still with that edge of steel, that said she wasn’t giving up and she wasn’t broken. He held on to that as a hope, even though he knew that by the time he finished she would tell him to leave.

 

              “My godfather came and got me before I would break into any more pieces. He brought me to Japan and helped me re-invent myself, though I always felt it was a mask not an actual change. Then a rude and slightly crazy girl showed up at LME, she didn’t like me and was incredibly rude. Not to mention I thought she had the worst reason to join show biz. She started to win me over though, and it was confirmed that she was different than I thought when she sat seiza for a scene with a broken ankle and you couldn’t tell till she spaced out from the pain. Even then her expression didn’t change, she just lost the spark in her eyes and started to sweat like crazy. She wouldn’t stop till I left the scene so she could feel free to pass out. After that job, she dropped her treasure down the stairs and I found it, she came running down the stairs in cast screaming what sounded like my name. I froze, and if not for my training as an actor would have lost it right then and there. She saw me holding her treasure and then ignored me to check it to see if it had damage. She called the stone ‘Corn’ and then I knew who she was. She was my first love, the little girl I played with in Kyoto as a child. The girl who had set my ideas about the ideal Japanese woman, and who all others were compared to. Then I realized that she had changed so profoundly that it was unbelievable, till I remembered she joined show biz to get revenge on Sho Fuwa. That meant he must have been Shotaro, and he hurt her quite badly.”

 

              “I started to act like a real sempai after that, taking her under my wing and trying to nurture her talents. I knew that if she was serious about show biz that she could make it far, she never was able to quit something she started. As we went along I started to fall in love with the grown version of my first love, but I knew she wouldn’t love me back. She had sworn off love thanks to that idiot and he would still always hold the biggest part of her heart, no matter what I did. But as time went on I started to have hope, that maybe he could be erased from her heart. I held out hope that one day she would love me.”

 

              “Then our boss, the love monster that he is, started to meddle more than usual. And every time he did, he nearly drove us apart. I tried to control the old part of me, that wanted to take her love by force. He would push us into uncomfortable situations, I would screw up and freak her out then promptly make up some lie that would have her relax again. Though she regularly got on to me for my lack of Japanese decorum and how open I am with my affections. But I was still making steady progress to her maybe someday loving me. Then she said something that broke the bindings that had been left on Kuon in Ren’s mind.”

 

              “She told me she needed me to teach her the physical parts of romance ‘in advance’ so she wouldn’t disappoint ‘him.’ The only him I could think of was her prince Shotaro and it broke me. I had done so much hoping she would love me but instead she was running back to him, handing him even more of herself. Kuon and Ren were both furious to not only lose you Kyoko but to be asked to show you how to please him on top of everything was a pain worse than I had felt in a long time. I was fighting myself on whether I should tell you and get you to leave before I did something I couldn’t take back, in the hopes that if it ended I could try and win you once again. Or if I should just give up and make it where no matter what man touched you or that you touched all you would be able to do was remember me and compare them to the love I was going to show your body. I became a monster once more, and yet again the most important person to me was the one I destroyed.”

 

              “So now you know, it’s not that I didn’t find you attractive, which I don’t understand how you still think that with all the different men drooling and fawning over you. I simply couldn’t stand that I was finally getting to touch you but you were seeing someone else, and imagining it was his hand instead of mine, his mouth and his breath… it was unbearable. When you told me that you didn’t need me to touch you, just tell you what to do, I couldn’t stop the anger that poured out. You then went on to tell me you thought I was disgusted by touching you, and then asked if I could bear to at least stay your friend. You sounded so much like the sad little girl from the woods that it hurt, I flinched and grimaced before I could stop it. But you saw and drew your own conclusions, deciding that I didn’t want you and hated touching you. I was getting ready to stop you when you said something that froze my soul and destroyed me heart. You said that you ‘new no man would want you, but I didn’t need to rub it in your face like Sho,’ that one sentence froze my entire world.”

 

              “You had decided I was the same sort of man as Sho, and that I would do something so cruel. It was then that I realized I never had a chance at all. I would never have enough of your trust that you would believe me when I said I wanted you as my only love, that you were the most important person to me. I would never be more than a sempai in your eyes, and now you had decided I wasn’t even worth that.” He saw her try to speak and held up a hand asking her to be quiet and wait.

 

              “I am not blaming you, it just made me realize that no matter what I do I will always be a monster. The only people that I love who get close to me get destroyed by me, so I decided I would stay away from you. It is the only way to make sure I don’t hurt you again, enough people have done that. After saying all of this I have realized one more thing, no matter the mask I put on I will still be the same monster from my youth. I will still destroy those who are important to me, and I need to get far away from you to keep you safe.” He had been looking in her eyes as he spoke for a while now he realizes, but the way she seems to be trying to block out everything he said makes him say one last thing before he leaves.  “Kyoko just remember that you make even monsters love you. You are beautiful and capable of anything, so when you find a man you care about don’t let your past stop you. You deserve to be happy with a good man.”

 

              Everyone in the room is frozen and staring at him with looks varying from pity to sadness, so he just turns and leaves. Knowing that this time he needs to make sure he is gone before anyone can stop him to talk him out of it, she needs to be free of him. He almost makes it to the door when her voice rings out across the room and freezes him in his tracks.

 

              “You say you love me, but you can’t even be bothered to talk to me now. You won’t look at me again, and I know you’re running. So just tell me one thing, how can you say you love me and then hurry off to leave me behind again? There is no fairy kingdom to use as an excuse this time, so tell me why I am being left behind again Corn.” Her voice is strong but there is a tone there he has never heard before, he wants to know what it means…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I have a few more chapters written but I am going to start spacing them out so that there wont be long gaps between future chapters... I hope. I will probably post again next Friday or if I get impatient then maybe on Wednesday. Thank you for following all the ups and downs the characters are going through, I hope you stick around for the angst to lessen and the rest of the human emotions to have some real screen time. I hope you all come back for the next chapter, it is luckily not as long as this one.


	9. Now You Need to Listen to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kyoko is still a little in shock from what Ren just said, but isn't letting him get away so easily now. He has to listen to what she has to say, and she is hoping that it might save their chances... Maybe even give them a real chance now. She can only talk, and hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my friend isn't proofreading for me anymore so sorry for all the typos. I have edited this twice, but I will still miss things since I know what should be there. Hopefully you all enjoy Kyoko getting her fire back.

Kyoko doesn’t know where she got the confidence to say that from but she is glad she had it. He was leaving her behind again, letting her know she didn’t fit in his world. It hurt the first time but made sense that a human girl couldn’t go to the fairy kingdom with the prince. Now though the man she loves just said he loved her since childhood, and that he wants her so badly he lost his senses. Then he turned and walked away, as if she didn’t matter. As if he knew her feelings and didn’t need to ask anything else. She refused to be left behind again.

 

              “So, you tell me you love me and then leave. How can you say you love me if you wont even wait to hear my feelings before you run away? You have no idea how I feel, in fact everyone in the room but you knows how wrong you are about my feelings. Are you willing to put your idea of my feelings down and actually listen to how I feel? It will surprise you, at least as much as your feelings surprised me. What will you do now, trust me or run?” Kyoko has said as much as she is willing to say without a response from him. He still is standing frozen by the door, like he wants to leave but cant. Then she admits it might be that he wants to turn around and cant, she isn’t so confident on reading him anymore.

 

              Ren turns around and sees the tears running down her face, but also sees a look in her eyes he cant identify. All he knows is she is very calm talking about his feelings and about him needing to hear hers. He never was very good at denying her what she asked for from him, he cant see why he should try and start now.  He walks back over and sits on the floor in front of the couch, close enough he can see every nuance of emotion on her face but too far for her brothers to kick without putting her down. He wants to hear what she has to say before they tear him apart.

 

              He is sitting so close… All she wants to do is touch him, and wipe that sadness out of his eyes. She has no idea what is going to happen when she finishes, but she knows if she doesn’t say it now she never will. “You told me your story, now I want you to listen to mine. All I ask is you give me the same curtesy you asked for, just don’t leave till I finish please?” She cant help the desperate hopeful look that she can feel on her face. She sees his eyes soften, then he just nods with a sigh before staring at her face again.

 

              “I was once in love with a fairy prince that visited me for a short time when I was 6 years old. I didn’t realize it at the time because I was still stuck on this idea that someday my childhood friend would finally notice me and he would love me and give me the family I always wanted. I was so sad when Corn left me that I threw myself into making the Fuwas like me even more, I wanted to make sure that they wouldn’t leave me behind like everyone else had. As I got older I just kept hoping Shotaro would notice me, even though a part of me realized he never would. It’s why I ran away with him so easily when he asked me to come to Tokyo with him. I thought he finally noticed me, and wanted me by his side instead of the girl his parents wanted to marry him to.”

 

              “After we made it to Tokyo I realized he wasn’t in love with me, but I thought it was becoming that way since he asked me to run away with him. When I realized he had brought me with him because my love for him made me a convenient tool to use I was destroyed. Not because he didn’t love me, but because I knew he didn’t and I still devoted myself to him whole heartedly hoping he would love me if I tried hard enough. I already knew better. My mother had proved to me long ago you cant force someone to love you, no matter how much you want it. However, then I had a new problem since I couldn’t go home I had no one now. I was alone without a home and no purpose, since my only purpose had been to make the people in my life happy. I had no one to devote myself to, and without that I was just a shell where a person should have been. I was an empty doll that could work but had no thoughts of its own. I was furious with myself and with him for turning me into that sort of useless person.”

 

              “I will skip over the part where we met, we both know how we felt. I will say the first time I thought you deserved all the praise you received and more was the same day you started to approve of me being in show biz. I had a grudging respect for you, that changed into true respect of your skills. That respect turned to friendship before I even noticed, but the surprising jump was one day I realized you were all I though about if someone mentioned romance.” She was trying not to sob at the sad disbelieving sounds that Ren was making. Then she realized she didn’t know what name to use Ren? … Kuon?... oh well she would figure out what to call him later.

 

              “One day, due to the president’s meddling I realized something I had been denying for a long time… I was in love with my sempai. I loved him dearly and immediately realized I had to leave, that he could never know what a fool I am. He was so far out of my league it isn’t even funny, but I didn’t want anyone else to have him either. So I was stuck acting as his kohai while I had to hide my feelings all the time. He never noticed, he just thought I was made of stone.”

 

              “Then one day a script came to me, the president had sent it to Sawara-san to have me read. I tried to accept almost immediately, but Sawara-san furiously told me I had to read the whole script first or he was telling my sempai what I had done. So I went back and read the whole thing, but I still wanted the part. You see I would get to play an actual princess in a fairytale type story, the only down side was the story had parts I couldn’t even imagine how to act out.” She took a deep breath and went on to finish before she lost her nerve.

 

              “You see this series had adult scenes to it, I wouldn’t need to actually be naked on set but it would be intense anyways. I had no idea how to do it but I promised Ogata-san that I would be ready for this part. I couldn’t bring my self to watch porn like Moko suggested, not to mention I had no idea where to get it. I knew that the company kept racier movies on hand as reference material for actors to figure out how to play those parts, but I would have to check them out of our film room and I couldn’t bear to. I am not old enough to get it from a video shop, and I have no idea how to get it online. I am not close to many men, so I had no one to even ask for magazines or manga with that kind of content.” Kyoko knew she was tomato bright but wasn’t going to stop because she was embarrassed. She just kept telling herself over and over that she could do this, she wouldn’t give up.

 

              “Moko suggested I ask someone, but I am only close to 2 actors who might know how to teach me about those scenes. One of them was my dad, and I was not even going to think about that because it would be weird and embarrassing and I would die if I had to ask him. So I asked the only man aside from my father that had my trust 100% to not only be able to teach me how, but be willing to help me with something so odd.” She noticed that Ren flinched because she used past tense for trust, but she wasn’t really lying to say she didn’t have 100% trust any more.

 

              “You see I thought I would get to kill two birds with one stone. One he would teach me what I needed to know to do this right and make Ogata-san happy he requested me personally for the part without an audition. The second even more selfish reason was that one of two things would happen: He would either touch me and leave the imprint of his touch in my mind forever, or he would tell me in great detail what to do and I could pretend later that he was in the scene with me and wanted to touch me like that. It was selfish and immature but I thought it would be my only chance considering how he acted the one time I tried to lead up to telling him how I feel. So I came over and nervous as I could be asked him for help, then I watched all my hopes and wishes die in the face of his anger at being asked and his disgust at actually touching me in such a way. I left after we fought and then leaned against your door for 5 minutes, waiting for you to come after me to tell me I was wrong. When you didn’t come after me I knew I was right, and my heart died because yet again I loved a man that could never love me.”

 

              “I don’t remember how I got to Moko’s or even what I told then or when Yukihito got here. What I can remember is that the first thing that pierced my fog and resurrected a little piece of my heart was when he said he lost his job. I vaguely remember telling him he should have other people to hang out with who had worth, and that it hurt his feelings that I wouldn’t spend time with him. I remember the rest of the night far too well, but what I do remember is that the whole time I cried, I was crying because you didn’t love me not that you said something cruel.” She breaths deep one more time then takes a leap of faith.

 

              She gets up out of Yukihito-oniichan’s lap to touch Ren’s face and grab one of his hands. “If you meant it when you said you loved me, and love me still then please don’t leave me behind again. I don’t want to lose the person I love the most twice.” She felt him tense and had to smile, “Silly Kuon, I am talking about my mother, not that idiot.” She just watched his face as he came to his decision, and her heart jumped into her throat when he opened his mouth to speak.

 

              “I will stay, and I wont leave till you send me away. But you need to remember that I said more than I love you, I also told you what sort of monster I am. You need to remember the things that happened as Cain and then decide if you really want me here.” He sounded so… scared was the only word Kyoko could think of that matched.

 

              “Ren I remember, not only the problems as your anger found an outlet as Cain, but also how you reacted to the car accident. I realized after your story that you were not physically hurt, it was just too close to what happened to Rick for you to handle. You need to remember that I saw all of those and every time my only concern was for you, whether others were injured or not didn’t matter. I only cared if you were safe, and if you were coming back to me from that far off place your mind went.” She told him all of this as gently but firmly as she could with the tears in her eyes. Ren just stared at her as if he couldn’t quite believe it. “One more thing for both sides of you to think about Ren, I knew that the gentleman you showed everyone wasn’t you almost from the start. I always knew you had a dark side you tried to hide from everyone, and it never once drove me away from you. It just made me feel closer to you once we were friends because it meant you wouldn’t reject me because of my dark side.” She had said everything she needed to, now it was up to him what he did.

 

              Ren stood up after gently taking Kyoko’s Hands off him and tried to ignore the tiny pained sound she let slip before she could get her shields back up. But there was one more thing he had to do before he could decide if he should stay or not. He turned to his parents, took a deep breath and started a conversation that could destroy them all.

 

              “Ok now you know everything. You know that I knew I was an accessory, one you were very fond of but an accessory none the less. I never understood why you wouldn’t at least let me have a semi-normal childhood, but I figured it was because you never though of me as a child. You took me to strange adult only parties so you wouldn’t have to miss out on them because of me. You left me with strangers whose only interest in me was if they could use me to get something from the two of you. I learned how to gamble and swear in at least 5 languages. I learned how to pick a lock and a pocket, as well as be a card and pool shark. I learned how to be a conman, how to pretend you were someone far different that you were. That bit is the one that helped me the most, it’s how I made Tsuruga Ren. But the things I didn’t learn were what you need to be a normal boy. I never learned sharing, or kindness. Humility wasn’t even a concept to me with all the people telling me how amazing it was I was your child.”

 

              His mother was sobbing again and even his father was crying but he couldn’t stop now. “I was never a priority for my parents in a different way from Kyoko. Her mother knew what she was doing and just never thought it was enough, where as my parents couldn’t tell you what I was doing if they weren’t with me. They would have to ask around with the staff to find out, and they never cared enough to do that. My father had me learn his languages but he was never really available to talk to me, not in depth. No father-son talks you see on TV or in movies, just empty loneliness. Rick tried to fill the void left by you. To give me the confidence that I was a person of worth without you two, that being your son wasn’t the only good thing about me. He picked me up each time I was fired or called a dirty half-breed and just wanted to disappear. He was the only person who cared what happened to me, and after a while it just hurt more, to have one person keep showing me what affection was like. He constantly showed me what it meant to be loved and it just made it hurt worse that he was the only one.”

 

              “The more he tried to show me I wasn’t alone the more he proved I was. I had no parents really, I stayed alone in a big house that had hired help from time to time to clean or do maintenance. But my life was solitary in all other aspects. I couldn’t bring myself to drive him away, I wanted at least that little piece of love and belonging. But I was so angry and hurt all the time that I needed an outlet. So I fought and hurt others so they could take some of my pain. And for the first time you two cared what I was doing, but by then it was too late. I had been doing it too long, and I realized you cared now because people were talking about it and not because of me. Then Rick died and I realized why you two didn’t want to be around me. I was a monster and I could only hurt others, it was no wonder you avoided me like the plague. So no matter what you said after that you were just trying to cage the beast, that you only cared now because I hurt someone. I finally understood that there were only two people in the world who could love Hizuri Kuon, one I had murdered and the other I left alone in childhood so she should be free of me by now. So I died, my body kept going but I did my best to kill everything that made me Hizuri Kuon, the untouchable monster. I hoped that if I changed maybe someday I could atone for what I did and be around people. I never expected or wanted happiness since I don’t deserve it, but I wanted at least a place to belong.”

 

              “Lory tells me it hurt you two that I didn’t contact you, but I couldn’t. Hizuri Kuon was dead and I wasn’t bringing him back. But the two of you finally wanted your son, once you couldn’t have him. And that hurt just as badly as your indifference to my existence.” Ren knew he was crying, but he hadn’t realized he was on the floor being held and rocked by the young woman he had nearly destroyed the day before. Ren guessed at least one good thing came out of this, they knew they loved one another and that was a win in his book.

 

              “Don’t feel like you need to say something to me. I see you both thinking hard about how to respond. I merely wanted to finally get it off my chest so maybe it would stop suffocating my heart as it tries to grow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about almost resolving the Ren and Kyoko angst only to start with Hizuri family drama. I just couldn't justify having Ren let out everything about Kuon to Kyoko but not address his parents who had hurt him so badly. So now Ren and Kyoko have gotten all the childhood angst out into the open... Its time to heal and move on together... if they can keep their act together that is.


	10. It Hurts to See Your Face Sometimes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren's parents have to try and cope with everything they just learned. Once they have a handle on their grief and misery they have to try and explain that they aren't monsters, just stupid and selfish. An explanation no one would have expected or applied to the man who all but adopted Kyoko.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally the big angst is wrapping up, and I am getting ready to swing the next two or three story arcs this has before I wrap it up. I am so happy that people are reading and enjoying this. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as well.

              Kuu had always knew that Kuon had felt unimportant, maybe even like they didn’t have time for him and he wanted other parents. He never could have guessed the depth of despair their son had sank to while they were caught up on themselves and their careers. He never truly understood how much of the terrible things were entirely his fault. He doesn’t even know what to say, and he can’t even console Julie who is coming unglued at the seams with these revelations.

 

              “Otou-san, take a deep breath. Panicking means you can’t reply and all of you will continue to suffer. So, take a deep breath and a few minutes to decide what you want to say. … I am going to say something that isn’t my place since we aren’t really family but… You made a terrible mistake, you left him alone and didn’t make sure he knew he was loved all the time and not just on your rare vacations. You can never undo that, it will stay forever as will the consequences. What you can do is apologize and explain your feelings. No matter what they are you need to say them for people to understand. Take a few minutes, I’m sure Moko won’t mind if you borrow her room to collect yourselves in.” She quickly looks at Moko to make sure that is true, when she gets a nod in reply she relaxes.

 

              Kuu can’t understand what is happening but he knows that Kyoko is right and they need to take a little time to collect themselves and decide what to say. He helps Julie stand and they walk over to the bedroom with slow, painful steps. He just can’t understand why they never noticed or how things went so wrong.

 

              “Sorry to break the moment but I think it needs to be said that we all just heard things that no one was supposed to know about you…. Hell, I don’t even know what to call you now. So, I need to know what happens now.” Kanae doesn’t really want to break the moment but things need to be addressed and no one else seems capable of doing it. Considering the way all the men in the room start at the question she knows that she needed to ask.

 

              “Right you are my dear, I have confidentiality agreements that I brought with me. I would like everyone to sign. It gives the exact parameters on what can and can’t be discussed when we leave here. This is just a precaution but you are correct that it needs to be addressed. Ren’s stage name can be the only name that passes your lips once we leave here till he is ready to come out as Kuu’s son.” Lory is both surprised and pleased that Kotonami immediately addressed this issue.

 

              “Um, is it ok if I do it later? I don’t really want to move right now.” Kyoko can’t help but blush as she says this, but she doesn’t mind being honest about her feeling in front of these people after all this. Ren just grips her tighter and she can’t help but smile into his hair and snuggle him closer. She still can’t believe it, “from hell to heaven in 1 days’ time. I am far too happy right now.” She didn’t realize she was talking out loud till Yukihito-Onii chan laughed and Ren lifted his head to look at her face, he was awestruck by the joy and love on her face.

 

              The words just poured out, “God I love you, you make everything brighter and happier. Your existence saves me.” He realized what he had just said when she squeaked and buried her face in his chest. He loved that she was comfortable enough with him to do that, he had resigned himself to losing her forever. He can’t believe his good luck, he was a happy man. The door opening behind him dimmed that optimism, he was a fairly happy man. He may never be truly happy while they are near him. He turned to look at them, pulling her in front of him facing _them_ , acting as a shield of sorts. He could tell she knew it because she only tensed for a second then settled against his chest, she still turned bright red though which is just cute.

 

              “We wanted to talk to you if that’s ok?” Kuu waited for his son to nod before they walked further into the room. He sat down on the love seat with Julie glued to his side, he cuddled her close and then launched into the conversation. “We want to say that nothing we are about to say excuses what we put you through, but we want you to understand our thoughts. We love you far more than you could ever know, especially since you thought we didn’t care for you at all. We always thought that the time we spent with you when we weren’t working was enough to show how much we care, especially since we said it so often. We never imagined that you thought you were a passing fancy for us, we never realized how much we were hurting you. I am so sorry and I can’t explain what we feel at knowing you were never allowed to be a child, not to mention that our very existence pained you. We never even knew that you were called a half-breed as you were fired from those jobs in Jr High. I don’t blame you for not contacting us, nor am I going to ask you to see us now if you don’t want to. I just want to tell you the reason we went from rather attentive when you were very little to distant and busy.”

 

              “When you were 2 years old, we got pregnant again, and you were overjoyed like us. However, at 6 months in there was a car accident and we lost the baby. You were inconsolable for weeks, we didn’t know how to deal with your pain and ours. We didn’t know how to help you, so we just left you with helpers for a while till you stopped asking about the baby. About 4 months after you moved on, nearly a full year after the accident we were blessed again. We had been told this pregnancy would be high risk so we didn’t tell anyone, not even you. Julie and I simply told people we wanted to spend time as a family. At six months Julie miscarried, she was devastated. You couldn’t understand why mommy was so sad and kept trying to cheer her up. She had to go stay with family before she said things she couldn’t take back, she was starting to blame you and that was NOT ok, for either of us. Again, later she miscarried a pregnancy we hadn’t even known about yet, this one caused complications that almost took Julie’s life.”

 

              Kuu could hear the quiet crying but he knew that he was almost done so he took a deep breath and finished. “We tried to move on, but then something we had never expected started to happen. Our 5-year-old son started to ask for a little brother or sister. The first time was only a little painful, but every time anyone asked if he wanted something he said a baby sibling. Julie started to avoid you then till that phase was past. However, then you would ask me about siblings and why mommy was so busy all the time. It got to the point where it was too much for me as well, so we found good nannies and threw ourselves into work to cope with the pain. By the time you outgrew that phase, we weren’t sure how to interact with you anymore. You were stand-offish and almost cold. So, we tried to include you, but we had launched our careers to greater heights in our grief and now had more work than could be done in a lifetime. I tried to reconnect with you by bringing you here to my home country, but I was busy the first day on location. After that I could never find you for the rest of the trip except at dinner, and you wouldn’t talk to me much since other people constantly interrupted. Our relationship only got worse from there.”

 

              “We don’t want you to ever think we are saying our actions are your fault.” Julie rushed to assure him as she watched her son curl around the woman he loves as if he were receiving physical blows. “We just want you to understand why we changed, and that it was never your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong, you were just a small child who wanted a bigger family. We were just terrible, selfish people who were so stuck in our own pain that we ignored the pain we were causing you. We are so sorry and hope someday you can forgive us, but for now we will leave you in peace.” Julie stood up to leave but stopped at the sound of her son’s voice.

 

              “Is that why you wouldn’t look at my face? Did I remind you of them? Or were you just sad that there was only me?” He couldn’t help but ask, they were questions that plagued him since childhood. He needed to know the answer.

 

              “Yes, in some small way you reminded me of them, but not because I saw them in you. You reminded me of them because you were our first child, that was how we had always thought of you. Now you are our only child and that was hard to deal with at the time, especially since neither of us talked about it after the third time. We just ignored it, and never got help for the issues that were plaguing us. I was selfish and self-centered enough to completely miss how my avoidance would make you feel. I will regret that forever, but what I regret more is I never got to know the child I had because I was stuck on what-ifs for children I could have had. I hope that maybe one day I will be able to get to know the man you grew to be.” Julie was at that weird calm place that comes with crying till you understand a problem. She knew why things had happened the way they did now, and that was a start to healing their family.

 

* * *

 

              “Wow, that was an extremely emotional day.” Hiou didn’t know what to say or do about any of the things he had heard today. All he knew was he wanted to go home and spend time with his parents, if they asked he would just say he was dealing with drama from Kyoko’s family. They already knew her mom was not kind to her because of something he had said before. “Kyoko will it hurt your feeling if I go home? I want to see…” Hiou shut up, realizing what a jerk he is.

 

              “Hiou you should never feel bad that you and your family get along and have a good relationship. Neither Ren or I will ever be upset that you have a happy family to go home to. Go home and see your parents, get a hug and have dinner. Just sign the president’s paperwork first… wait do you need a guardian here to sign that?” Kyoko was shocked she hadn’t thought of that before now.

 

              “Shit, yes I do… I will call my mom and see if she can come over. She won’t ask what I heard that needs that, but if you don’t want her to know who it’s about everyone else needs to sign theirs before she gets here so I can say just that. I can tell her without lying that everyone else had already signed theirs, but we couldn’t wait to get someone to come sign mine since Kyoko needed the support. My parents already know Kyoko doesn’t have a nice mother, I complained loudly about it shortly after I found out how she treated you. In fact, my mom still teases me that I said I would never let any kid be treated like that around me, much less my kid. She sang the ‘kissing’ song at me to make fun of me, thinking I had a crush on you Kyoko.” Hiou can’t help but laugh thinking about his mom singing that and his grandma hearing and making him red rice to celebrate.

 

              “Please call her Hiou, I will grab pens for everyone then start reading mine.” Is all Kanae says, but she leaves the room so fast everyone knows something is up. They seem to all collectively decide to let it slide for now since everyone’s nerves are shot.

 

              After Kanae brings back the pens the president hands an agreement to everyone, and Kyoko starts reading hers without question. Everyone but Lory is surprised when Ren takes it from her. “You don’t have to sign this Kyoko. I trust you more than even Lory, and I know you won’t betray me no matter what.” Is all he says.

 

              She climbs out of his lap and turns to look at his face, she surprises everyone but Moko with her next actions and words. “I am so glad you feel that way, but this isn’t for your peace of mind, it is for the president’s. And even if it was only for you I would still sign it, simply because it is the best way to protect you love.” She then kisses him on the cheek and takes it back while he is still in shock at the pet name and kiss, he starts to wonder if he is dreaming her doing such a thing. She feels very sassy and almost Natsu-ish so she winks at her Onii-chan when she sees him staring with his jaw dropped. Kanae sees the wink and bursts out laughing so hard she has tears running down her face in seconds, the whole room freezes at the sound, then they all start. Releasing the tension and pressure that had been building for so long. They aren’t startled when as soon as they are all done Kyoko bows deeply and starts to apologize for being overly familiar with his without permission.

 

              They especially aren't surprised when Ren stops her by saying "You could never be too familiar with me, I am happy with any pet name you are willing to call me. Plus no unattached man in his right mind will complain about a pretty girl kissing him." Kyoko just blushes and glances at him from under her lashes before going back to her contract. It takes a little longer for Lory to stop staring at the two of them but no one notices.

 

              After they are all done signing Hiou’s mother arrives to sign his copy as well, she didn’t object after her question of why was answered by Kyoko. All the girl had to say was “family drama” and Mrs. Uesugi was signing on the dotted lines. When she finished she took Hiou home and promised to check in with Kyoko later.

 

              “Moko, do you mind if Onii-chan and Ren stay for dinner? We need to eat some of the of the food the president sent expecting Dad and Mom to eat here… Do you mind if I still call them that Ren? I don’t want to make things awkward between us, if we are seeing each other…” She trailed off at the look on Ren’s face. “Never mind I am over thinking things again, excuse me I am going to go heat up dinner.” She rushed away from him and the look of… she isn’t sure what that look was but she is pretty sure it means they aren’t a couple or on their way to be a couple.

 

              Moko shoots a glare Ren’s direction then nods at Yukihito while pointing to Ren before rushing after Kyoko. Yukihito is less mad at his best friend now, but he is still annoyed and concerned for his little sister especially after that display. “So, what are your intentions towards my baby sister? Remember that being my best friend won’t save you if you hurt her again, I will just grab our younger brother and hunt you down. I see the confused look on your face so let me spell it out.” Yukihito looks at Ren like he is an idiot in need of remedial lessons on life. “You told her you love her but just now when she mentioned you being a couple you got a terrible look on your face. So, you need to tell her now if you aren’t interested, because it is cruel to lead her on and make her think that this is going somewhere if it isn’t.” Again, that strange look is on Ren’s face and Yukihito is starting to wonder if they broke Ren, maybe he needs time to deal with all the changes.

 

              “I am not sure” Ren says very slowly. “I never expected to have a chance with her at all but now… I think maybe we need time apart to think and make sure we are both ok with everything that has happened. If we are then I would like to take her on a date… FUCK! I would have to do love scenes with her! I’m going to have a damn heart attack, and that is only if I don’t embarrass myself with my umm, reactions. I am doomed either way, but maybe she will take pity on me and date me till I die of either cuteness overload or embarrassment.” He hears giggles from the kitchen and he isn’t sure whether to be happy to hear the sound or embarrassed that the girls heard him.

 

              Kyoko sticks her head through the door from the kitchen to the living room. “I am happy to take time for both of us to adjust to our world changing around us quickly, but I can guarantee that I will want to go on a date with you.” She pulls her head back into the kitchen as she laughs, and everyone in the apartment can’t help but smile at the sound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so the major angst is finished!!! YAY!!! But this being SkipBeat! based the angst will always be a little present, these misfits wouldn't know how to operate without it. But as they wrap up this major misunderstanding I will start to swing us through the next 2 or 3 story arcs I am thinking about before I wrap this one up.
> 
> I really hope that people can give me honest opinions and active feedback. I want this to be enjoyable for all the readers, though that doesn't mean I will stray too far from my original goals. I could be persuaded to change the paths to get there if anyone has an idea.
> 
> MOST IMPORTANTLY!!!!! I am thinking about writing a story for Hiou and Kanae set a few years after this is set. They wouldn't be connected, but the focus would be on those two and their relationship versus Ren and Kyoko. Let me know what you think.


	11. And Now to Say Goodnight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night is ending and everyone is saying goodbye after dinner. This is easier said than done after so much drama, and they still need to decide what their next steps are... Life is complicated and this is no different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this chapter is so late!!! I had a huge amount of trouble hit all at once but I will talk about that in the end notes. Here I will just say that this chapter is different than my first writing of it but I think it will flow better long term anyways.
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy it!

Dinner was fairly low key, well as low key as anything can be with the president around. He kept making not so subtle comments about whether they were together, and announcing they were a couple in a “grand fashion”. Ren just prayed that with them all chewing him out that he would keep it to his damn self for a while. Mostly Ren just hoped that Kyoko didn’t notice that he flinched every time the president brought it up. Things were moving so fast after he had felt like it was all ruined it was now right in his grasp. He couldn’t keep up, but he knew that it would hurt her that he was so unsure. He barely controlled his sigh of relief when the president leaves right after dinner saying he needs to talk to Maria and then spend some quiet time at home.

 

              It surprises everyone but Kyoko when Yukihito stops in front of the president blocking the door. What he says next surprises even her with how blunt it is. “I know you are my boss and can ruin my career, but realize if you tell people about this before they are ready and hurt my little sister I will have no problem dismantling all of the company I can manage and just being a general pain. So, let me be very clear, you don’t talk, hint, write, or scheme about their relationship. Your meddling almost cost them both, the two people I am responsible for and I refuse to let you hurt them again. If you can agree to this you can leave, if not you will stay till a lawyer gets here to make you sign papers to that effect.” Yukihito is taking his protecting of his little sister very serious, maybe even more serious than his protection of Ren. There is just a big difference between looking after a sister and your best friend.

 

              Lory has to take a minute to process what just happened, he knows that Yashiro is incredibly protective, and that he has adopted Kyoko but this was rather extreme. Then it clicks that everyone, except the two people who should, blame him for this mess even if it turned out ok in the end. He lost their trust, and that meant that he would be treated with the same suspicion as everyone else. “I have no intentions of saying anything until they are sure, but if it will sooth everyone’s nerves you can call him.” He tries not to smirk when Yashiro flinches and Kyoko looks horrified as she realizes who they are talking about. “Todoh-san would be happy to help protect her I’m sure, and he would be discreet about it. If for no other reason than to not upset her mother.”

 

              “NO!!!” Everyone jumps at this outburst from Kyoko, and are even more shocked to see her bury her face in Ren’s chest and tremble as she tries not to cry. She doesn’t need her mother to know about her possible relationship. She knows he won’t love her forever, maybe not even long, but she refuses to let it end before it even starts. She tries to calm down as Ren starts rubbing her back, he starts to hum very low to try and sooth her, she just can’t handle any more drama right now.

 

              “What did I just say?!?! Why do you have to say things you know will bother her? Yes, it would bother Ren and I too but that doesn’t mean its ok to hurt her. On second thought just leave, I think you have done enough today.” Yukihito scoffs at the president then walks over to his baby sister to try and sooth the pain that thinking of HER knowing has caused. He surprises everyone but the couple when he just pulls them both into a group hug. Kyoko stops shaking and smiles at them both.

 

              The president leaves while everyone but Kanae is looking at Kyoko. She stops him only long enough to tell him something. “I know it is hard not to interfere, I did it as well, but it backfired on us all. So instead of trying to start a new scheme, take a while to let them heal from all the damage done to them during this whole mess.” She doesn’t wait for a response, she simply opens the door to let him out. He leaves without comment after nodding at Kanae.

 

              Sebastian stepped up to Lory as he left the building, “what is our next step sir?” Lory just looked at him and shook his head as he climbed into the car. He had a lot to think about, mostly where he had gone wrong that the people he thinks of as family thought he would hurt them knowingly. As he thought about it more he realized that they may simply think he was foolish enough to hurt them by not considering the consequences. Though he did acknowledge that he had never contemplated that things would get so out of hand so quickly, he anticipated there being trouble when filming started. The possibility of Kuon taking control and crossing the one hard line Kyoko had left was not on his list of possibilities. At worst, he expected there to be a lot of drama and acting stalling as they fought their attraction to one another as they were expected to show attraction but trying not to show it was real. Maybe Kanae was right, it might be best to wait till they need backup or ask for help.  He decided to start making plans for when there was inevitably trouble, either the media or the ridiculous Fuwa boy. Yes, that sounded like the perfect idea.

 

_Back to the apartment_

 

              “Ok little one, I think if Kanae-chan doesn’t mind I will stay and watch a movie with you. I am still feeling a little lonely, and want to spend some more time with you. Would that be ok? I wouldn’t even hog the popcorn this time.” He winks at her as he says this last part, and then looks at Kanae for her permission.

 

              “I think it is obvious by now that I wont chase you out. You’re her family, I will never object to you staying to spend time with us as long as you behave.” She turns to try and say something to Ren but he cuts her off, with that look back on his face.

 

              “I need to go home so that I can try to wrap my head around the way the world just changed. I am very sorry if this hurts anyone’s feelings but I just can’t be around people right now.” Ren is looking at Kyoko with a guilty look on his face as he says this, but he forgot the sort of girl she is for a minute and got a surprise from her reaction.

 

              “Go take all the time you need Ren, I am a phone call away if you need anything and I’m sure onii-chan is too. I will never be upset that you need time alone to figure things out, especially after all of this. Your family, work, and love life just changed.” She blushed beautifully as she said love life, but the shocking thing for Ren was what happened next. She walked up to him, went up on her toes to kiss his cheek and give him a hug. She had let go and backed up before he could even react, he almost thought he imagined it. Then he saw Yashiro’s face and Kanae’s smirk and realized she really just did that, and he never saw it coming. Then she really blew him away, “remember its ok if you decide you don’t want to date Ren, I won’t be angry as long as you tell me. Also, you don’t get to quit the drama if you decide you aren’t interested, it wouldn’t be fair to Ogata-san. Well if I’m honest you also can’t quit because this way I can still hug you and be kissed no matter what.” Once she was done she smiled her Natsu smile, winked and then laughed at the look on his face before she turned and walked away.

 

              “Ren, you didn’t drive, did you? If you did you need to call a ride, you wouldn’t be safe right now. She really knows how to knock you out, doesn’t she? Do you need me to call you a ride Ren?” Yashiro was doing his best to not laugh in his friends face but if the look on his face was any indication he might not even notice.

_A little while later_

 

              “So, do you want to tell me where the hell that came from yet? I waited till we had cleaned up, then to get the movie picked out and talk about rather Yukihito would be staying the night again. I am not waiting anymore, and I don’t think your onii-chan is either.” Kanae had run out of patience, and was sick of being side stepped with that sly smile and a blush both still gracing her face. Either her best friend would tell her what was happening or she would shake it out of her!

 

              “Umm…. Onii-chan do you want to know or should we wait till you leave? Ok I can tell by the raised eyebrow you want to know too.” Kyoko took a deep breath and then decided to just tell them everything she was thinking instead of trying to figure out what to say and what not to say. “So, you both know he wasn’t sure he wanted to date me, and I really can’t blame him” she threw her hands up to stop them both from interrupting her. “I know that you both think I am just belittling myself but hear me out first please. I am younger and far less experienced in life and love, which means he will have to teach me everything and deal with me wanting more teenager types of things than he would want. He knows about the two settings I have had for love so far: I have either been so blindly in love that I allowed myself to be hurt time and time again or I have raged against love and all the fools who claim it is a good thing.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before going on, though she didn’t open her eyes back up. “That isn’t all of the problems though. The next big one is that Ren doesn’t think you should mix your personal life with your work, but I might have a hard time with that while touching and kissing my boyfriend at work. Close behind that is the mean things that will be said to and about us if we date, and he probably knows as well as I do that I will bear most it since no one would want to cross him for fear of his fans reaction. Add to that the way his fans will most likely hate me and try to be nasty to me as much as possible, and he will worry that it will be too much like my life in Kyoto with the idiot. This will only get worse since the media is sure to pick up on it and make more trouble for both of us over something that shouldn’t be any of their business, but they will not give him a moments rest once they find out. This will be followed up by the animosity I will earn from the women I work with, both on projects with him and without him. He will think of these things while he decides if he wants to be with me, so I thought I would remind him that if he considers the up and downs of dating me and decides against it I won’t hold it against him. I would hold him not doing work he has already agreed to against him though, and we all know it. When you add to all this the fact that he is pretty sure I will think about everything he told me today and put it with things that have happened around one another and decide he isn’t the man I thought he was and say no. What he doesn’t understand was I know who he is, this all just explained the whys and how’s of it. The last thing I said though was not calculated for anything but honesty and to see his expression. I thought he deserved to know I will still want to touch him even if he decides against it, it would make things more realistic since Kagome-hime is in love with a man who doesn’t love her back at the start of it. Though I will admit to you both that if he decides he doesn’t want to date me, I am going to use the show to try and lure him in.” She opened her eyes to see them both looking at her like she was an evil mastermind, she couldn’t take it and quickly got up from the table where they had all sat down.

 

              Yukihito and Kanae watched her flee the kitchen then turned to one another with blank looks that quickly morphed into smiles. “He is so screwed.” Kanae said before they both completely lost it and laughed so hard they cried and then kept laughing. They both realized now that she would give Ren time to adjust to the changes, but after him saying he loves her nothing short of saying it was a lie would cause her to let him get away. She would seduce him one way or another, if she realized how easy it would be to do it remains to be seen.

 

_Ren’s apartment after he gets home_

 

              “What the hell just happened?... I am talking to myself again, but at least it isn’t an argument this time. *sigh* I have no idea what to do, and her parting words didn’t make it any easier.” Ren started talking to himself almost as soon as he sat down on his couch after getting home. He also decides that he is crazy enough without thinking about all this out loud. If he really needs to he will talk to Yashiro to get advice.

 

              _The rest of this section is in Ren’s head unless it’s in quotations_

 

              Ok so let’s look at the family stuff first, that will impact the rest. Mom and dad don’t hate or dislike me, they aren’t even sad that they had me after the new wore off. They are still strangers to me though, and they did choose that path knowingly. I guess the real question is can I understand why they did it and try to forgive them and move on. I know what Kyoko and Yashiro would say, but that doesn’t mean I want to do it. I suppose I can try to talk to them some when they come around Japan, I know Kyoko wont mind being the person everyone thinks they are meeting.

 

              …

 

              Ok I will try and talk to them, maybe we could be a little closer now. However, I am too old to get parents now, so they will have to be ok with just being older friends. If they can be ok with that I will try to get to know them. *sigh* It feels much better now that I have a decision. Now for the hard part, yes or no to dating.

 

              I guess pros and cons will work for me at this point. Hopefully I can have a decision for Kyoko soon, but today I am going to take a shower and change. Then I will go to bed till tomorrow probably, after that I should be clearheaded and have some perspective on things.

 

              _The next morning (still in Ren’s head)_

 

Ren jolted awake with a gasp that was quickly followed by disbelief. He hadn’t had a dirty dream since his teens and now of all times he does, that is so not helpful. He knows that he shouldn’t dream about himself and Kyoko being involved in the same way as the couple in the show, but it’s not like it was a conscious effort to dream it or anything… Oh god, no one can ever find out about this. Well I guess I know what my subconscious thinks of dating Kyoko, or at least being involved with her which I think demands dating. I am so screwed if its already this bad.

 

              Ok I need coffee and then need to sit down and go over the pros and cons, I should not write it down anywhere just in case. He takes a deep breath then gets ready for the day since he woke up almost 2 hours before he had to be he can afford to take time for his pros and cons list.

 

              “Ok Ren, just work it all out and then go from there… I can’t write this down but I can keep a tally of pros vs cons. I’m talking to myself again… this can’t be healthy… *sigh*” Ren pulls over a note pad and starts his tally with a pro, I will never have to pretend I am not interested in her around her again. That is a huge plus, maybe it should count twice but I will leave it here for now. I can touch her and hold her without her being freaked out, I hope, so that is a pro. People who see this will give me a hard time about our ages, con. She will catch even more flack for dating me from women on projects together but also anyone else who had dreams of dating “Ren Tsuruga”, con. I could be arrested if and when her mother finds out since she is very worried about appearances and all she will see is an older man taking advantage, major con. The press will possibly take this out on her since they won’t want to alienate me or my fanbase, con. …I am only thinking of cons, I need to at least try to think of pros… I can justify arranging my schedule to spend more time with her and take more roles to be near her, pro. If I do that to much it may scare her and drive her away though so all things in moderation. She will be honest with me about her feelings for me and so much else, pro. I can protect her from Fuwa without anyone saying I am overstepping, pro. He may make more trouble for her when I’m not around because we are dating, con. I have a possible future with her and this is one step closer to it, pro. I can protect her from everyone who would hurt her, pro. She will push me to be a better actor, pro. I will push her to be a better actress, pro. She can act as a buffer between my parents and I, pro, if she doesn’t mind at least. The president will leave us out of his love schemes if we are involved, seems sad to add this but, pro. She and I will finally know what it is like to have someone love you for you, including all your dark side and past, pro. She could lose her feelings for me as she grows and is exposed to more people, which would break my heart, con. I could do something else stupid and hurt her terribly again, con. I can protect her from ‘the beagle’ if he ever shows back up, pro. Yashiro wouldn’t feel bad managing us both, which he has been thinking about, pro. Even if things go wrong after a while we will have an amazing love story in the meantime, pro.

 

              Ok that is 15 pros and 7 cons… I’m sure there are more of both but I think I can already tell which there are more of. So, I know what I want, now I need to decide if it is worth it to box her in like this. Who am I kidding, I won’t be able to decide. I am going to need some advice on this and I know just where to go. Ren smiles, he always feels better with a plan of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so a huge amount of crap hit the fan all at once since I last updated. I had to mad scramble for my finals since I got sick again the week before them, ugh. I had almost 5 chapters stock piled including the first interation of this one, but my computer decided it couldn't handle life anymore. I totally gave up and had to be completely wiped, and my online folder for this fic got corrupted so I couldn't use the back ups. Once all that happened I lost all my drive and creativity so rather than put out crap, which after seeing my second attempt at this chapter I can tell you would have been what you got, I decided to take a break till I had the drive to write again. Ok, pity party over. Let's talk about the story.
> 
> I have a rough outline with basic ideas for each chapter but I am always happy to see suggestions and requests, I don't promise to follow them but I will read and consider them. If your suggestion is really good and won't derail my end goal I may add it in, so feel free to comment any ideas you may have. If your suggestion is used I will add you as a co-author for the chapter.
> 
> Hopefully I will see you all again next week, but with my Japanese classes and all the other course work fright now this may move to a chapter every two weeks. I am really thankful for all the support and understanding. I will do my best to live up to your expectations.
> 
> -Bree


	12. #Relationship Goals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ren needs advice on what to do about Kyoko, and on the other side of town Kyoko helps Hiou with a similar girl problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I did my best on the formatting of this chapter but there is one area where no matter what I do to the HTML it just wont use the formatting so it looks a little off but at least the paragraphs stayed separate. ;-) Either way I hope you enjoy this chapter.

“So, you are sure you can be an objective friend on this right? Because I don’t make a habit of asking the big brother of the woman I am interested in dating advice, but I have never considered dating my best friend’s little sister so…” Ren just looks at Yukihito with an honest question on his face. When he just gets that ‘you have to be kidding me’ face from Yukihito he just decides to run with it. “Yash- Yukihito I am trying to decide if we should date or not. I know I love her, and she thinks she loves me but that could change.” He takes a deep breath to continue only to be cut off.

 

              “Oh, for kami’s sake!!!!! You have to be kidding me Ren!!!! She has been in love with you since well before the Heel siblings, and you think that now that you could and should return her feelings they will just what… fade away? I don’t normally think that you are an idiot but with the way things have been going this week I am wondering if I need to change my assessment of your intelligence. She will win your heart and time one way or another, her last comments to you should have made that clear. So now the question is do you want to give her even 1 more, small wound to her self-esteem as a woman? Because if she is forced win you after you told her you love her there will always be some part of her that is wondering why she wasn’t good enough to date but was good enough to love. Not to mention that she is so ridiculously selfless that she will always feel like maybe she just browbeat you into dating her, and that maybe there would have been a chance to go out with someone you really wanted. So, before you ask another inane question, let me point out something else to you, you two are so much better when you work and spend time together that it shouldn’t be allowed. You make everyone around you look less skilled, and once you two start interacting out of scenes everyone sees you as, and I am quoting one of the women from Dark Moon, you are “#RelationshipGoals.” So now that I have said all of that, any other questions?” Yukihito knew he should have eased into that more but this madness had to stop. He couldn’t sit there while Ren acted like there was any other outcome that was acceptable but them dating.

 

              Ren just stared open mouthed at Yukihito until he remembered they are in public and someone could get a picture of him like that, which would be bad. “Ok, then I guess I only have two questions. First do you have plans for all the pitfalls heading our way? These include the media finding out, the reactions of our contemporaries, and of course Fuwa and her mother being the two biggest possibilities for mayhem. I just realized what that says about the two people she has the strongest connection to from her past… Anyways that’s only the first part the second is, if she agrees to date me what in the hell do I do for a first date with a high school girl? I am too old for a lot of the typical teenager dates and she is too young and money conscious for the places I normally take women on first dates. I am at a complete loss here.” He just sits back and waits to hear what Yukihito has to say.

 

              “Ok I will answer this in three parts even though you asked in two. First, I am already drafting multiple plans for each possible problem I can think of, though I want to try and become her manager as soon as possible to head things off at the pass as quick as possible. Secondly, I think she would even be happy with a family restaurant and a rented movie or a walk in the park. Actually, she would probably be happy to cook you dinner and then just sit quietly out of your way. She is unfortunately still fairly certain you will change your mind at some point, so she isn’t letting herself get her hopes up. Plus, with her past experience she thinks any decent amount of care or consideration is a grand gesture. You really would have to be an idiot to screw it up at this point. And lastly, if you still want ideas then we need reinforcements. I happen to know just the person to ask.” Yukihito immediately puts on his gloves and takes out his phone to text them and ask to meet up.

 

_ The next day _

              Kyoko was just wondering what to do with herself when she got a call from her ototo. “Hi Hiou! How is your day going?” She was happy to hear from him, they hadn’t got to talk again after he left with his mom the other night. She was a little worried that he had been freaked out by everything that happened.

 

              “Hi ane, if you aren’t busy can we meet for lunch? I can come to you if you are on set today.” Hiou didn’t want to seem needy but it can’t be helped, he needed advice and she was the best one to give it. He really, really hoped she had time to eat with him.

 

              “I have a half-day today and Moko canceled our plans, so I am free for lunch, and even if I wasn’t I would make time for my ototo. I am glad to have such amazing brothers, and I hope to even be half as good a sister as you are a brother. So where would you like to meet for lunch? If it is too far you will have to wait for me to take a subway or bus over there.” She started calculating her budget in her head as she spoke, and decided she could swing a lunch out unless it was really expensive.

 

              “No need, just tell me where we should get you from and we can pick you up on the way. I am finished now so just tell me when and where and we will be waiting for you… just to warn you my mom is going to be the one giving me a ride, and will probably eat with us too. I just wanted to tell you, so you weren’t startled later.” Hiou really hopes that isn’t a deal breaker for Kyoko because he badly needs her advice. The advice from her will be much more valuable than the stuff his family keeps saying no matter what they think.

 

_ An hour later _

              “Hiou! I’m coming down in just a second, sorry I’m running late.” Kyoko calls down to Hiou from the balcony over the lobby. She had just finished speaking with a staff member who was sent to ask her a question, the president had apparently changed the schedule she would have, and they wanted to know if she knew why and for how long. Needless to say they didn’t like her answers, which were just several polite ways to say she didn’t know, didn’t want to know, and wasn’t going to talk to the president to ask why. She knows it’s unreasonable to be mad at him, but he almost ruined everything with his meddling. … Ok that isn’t fair either, but it was still partially his fault, but mostly their own. *sigh* At least she is down the stairs now and can greet her ototo.

 

              “Hello!” Kyoko wraps him in a hug immediately, forgetting that they are in public and that his mom is here. Then, while still not thinking she makes it worse. “How is my favorite brother? Though I think ototo’s are normally the favorite, they are just cuter.” She says as she hugs tighter for a moment then backs away. Hiou is used to the skinship after what happened the other day, and he loves her like a sister too, so he isn’t blushing at the public display. He is aware that it has drawn a lot of interest from a lot of people, unfortunately the most interested person is his mom. Though that is sort of good because she at least won’t run to the tabloids with ‘the scoop’.

 

              “Ha-ha, I am doing ok but I’m really hungry so let’s talk on the way to lunch.” Hiou uses his boyish charm that he hates so much to make the whole scene seem far more innocent, this is helped when Maria runs down the hallway calling for Kyoko.

 

              “Onee-san, are you leaving already?” After that several people start whispering about the love me division and they all decide it must be more weirdness from the president. _First time him being just shy of crazy has come in handy,_ Hiou knows it’s less than kind to think this but it is still true none the less.

 

              “Hello Maria-chan. I am leaving now, I had a half day and now I am going to lunch with Hiou and his mother. Did you need something from me?” Kyoko hates to leave knowing that Maria was looking for her but Hiou never asks for help and he called to set up a meeting for advice. For him to go through that much effort to talk it must be important.

 

              “Oh, hi Uesugi-kun. It’s ok onee-san, I was just hoping you could fix one of the outfits you made for my Ren doll, a sleeve tore when I was changing his clothes. You sew much better than me, so I was going to ask you to do it, but we can meet up later to fix up a couple things for my dolls.” Maria wanted to talk to big sis, but she can tell that something important is happening, so she can wait. Her sixth sense says that Uesugi-kun isn’t trying to come between Kyoko and Ren, so she will just leave them alone for now, or as alone as you can be with a mom tagging along.

 

              “Ok, Maria-chan I will talk to you later.” Kyoko turns as Maria turns to walk away and addresses Hiou’s mom for the first time. “Hello Uesugi-sama. It is nice to finally meet you formally, I am Kyoko. I am so proud to be your son’s friend. I hope we will get along as well, thank you for all the assistance and support with the recent trouble.” Kyoko introduces herself and thanks Hiou’s mom all perfectly parallel to the floor, Hiou is impressed with her balance and voice control since it is really hard to stay like that much less talk while you’re down there. Then again, she often acts like the daughter of a distinguished old family, but that can’t be right because she never has visitors and she is more frugal than a housewife. I know enough of her secrets without demanding more, and if she never wants to talk about it that is ok too. After all these thoughts run thorough his head, which he guesses took about 10 seconds, she is still bowing, and his mother is just looking at her oddly.

 

              “Would your mother’s name happen to be Saena?” Uesugi-san asks Kyoko without returning her bow. She sees the girl flinch and start to pull her shoulders and arms in as if to protect herself from attack, but then she sees her realize she has moved and snapped back to a picture-perfect bow. She couldn’t anticipate her answer to this question, even though she meant to judge this girls character by asking a question she could see the answer too.

 

              “I haven’t had a mother since I was very little, and I know she doesn’t want to be associated with me ever, so I cannot answer you without lying. Please ask about anything else, but never that. Please.” Kyoko’s voice broke a little at the please, and Uesugi-san was going to bow back so the girl could stand up while she apologized. She knew from Hiou that she had a very hard time with family issues. Before she could do any of that though Hiou was in motion. He stepped between the two and gave his mother a look that would freeze lesser people, but she recognized it from his father, so it lost some effect. What happened next did not, and she had no idea it would be such a hard but proud moment for her.

 

              “If you can’t avoid asking things you know the answer to, and know it will be extremely hurtful then you need to stay away from my sister. I have had enough of adults thinking its fine to hurt her since she won’t fight back, she just smiles and takes all the abuse before going to cry by herself. Enough is enough! I don’t want to talk to you right now, please wait outside mother.” Hiou was extremely forceful throughout his speech, but he sneered her title at her before turning his back on her to take care of the girl he has claimed as family. She doesn’t know what to say so she nods and heads outside to wait. She needs to think of an apology first.

 

              Hiou ignores his mother as she leaves, he is so confused as to why she decided to hurt Kyoko. She knows what Kyoko’s childhood was like, at least a little, she has never gone straight for a sore spot like that. She better have an amazing apology ready when we leave, or I may be grounded forever for the lecture she will get. “Ane, stand up now. You don’t need to bow to someone who treats you like that. You aren’t at the ryokan anymore, you don’t have to always be polite. I’m sorry she did that, I don’t know why she attacked you like that, but I can promise she won’t do it again.” Hiou finally puts a hand on her shoulder and guides her up to a standing position halfway through talking because she still hadn’t stood up. He understands why when he sees her face. She hadn’t managed to get that horrible service smile face with empty eyes back up, she was smiling and all the facial muscles were right but her eyes were sad and filled with unshed tears. As soon as she saw him looking she quickly wiped them away and fully slid the mask back on.

 

              “I’m fine Uesugi-kun, I was just a little surprised is all.” Kyoko smiles big hoping he won’t notice how much that really hurt, but then she sees him frown harder and can’t figure out why.

 

              “If you want to lie because we are in public that’s fine, but please don’t shut me out like I’m just some person you met on set. It hurts that you immediately switched back to my family name with honorifics. But then I guess maybe you realized you could do better for friends and family than me if my family will treat you this way.” As soon as Hiou says it he realizes he said something wrong, he feels like a manipulative jerk to her even though it is not her fault he is upset. “I’m sorry that wasn’t fair. You didn’t do anything wrong, so I shouldn’t take it out on you.” Hiou looks around and sees how many people are trying to look like they aren’t listening to every word. He just grabs her hand and starts pulling her outside. “Whatever we can talk more at lunch, there are too many nosy people.”

 

              Kyoko notices that Hiou is both sad and embarrassed so she decides to just let it go and just walk with him. She knows it isn’t her ototo’s fault and that he has similar reactions to Moko when he gets upset he gets, well rude, there isn’t a better way to describe it. He drags her outside and before they reach his mother, who looks quite depressed and sorry, she tugs him to a stop. She wraps him in a big hug and decides to just say it, “I am so glad you’re my ototo and that you do your best to take care of me. Thank you for being upset for me but you should be nicer to your mom, she’s the only one you have.”

 

Hiou turns bright red as she lets go and just mumbles out, “love you too Ane.” He then hustles over to his mother with his sister in tow. He will listen to her advice and try to be nice to his mom even though he is still mad at her. “I am going to calm down and listen to you since Ane says to, but I am still mad at you.” That is the best he can do but what do you expect, being this age sucks.

 

“Hiou is right, I treated you very badly. I knew that your family was a sore spot for you from the little bit Hiou has talked about. I simply wanted to judge the character of the young lady my son is so enamored with.” Ms. Uesugi can’t understand why Kyoko started laughing and her son simply blushed and shook his head with a sigh.

 

“I’m not Hiou’s love interest in real life or on screen. In real life he and I are siblings, we have made our own little band of siblings to take care of each other. I’m meeting Hiou today to talk about the girl he likes and help him come up with a plan of attack. Since she is my best friend it is easy to help him, and I really want it to work out for them both.” Kyoko has to work not to laugh again when Hiou blushes and looks at the ground while his mother looks so very confused. It is going to be a fun lunch.

 

“Thanks, Ane, that’s really nice… she didn’t know who it was before, so she just assumed it was you and I stopped correcting them a while ago. They decided they were right which left her from being accosted by a powerful acting family who isn’t above throwing their weight around if they really think it’s necessary. I don’t want them ruining my chances before I even ask her out. So, no names and let’s keep specifics to a minimum please.” Hiou is still blushing but trying to pretend he wasn’t because it shouldn’t be embarrassing to say he wanted to date Moko, but he kind of doesn’t want anyone to know because he is pretty sure she will say no. He knew however that people could interpret this as him being embarrassed about who he likes instead of the potential outcomes.

 

“Hiou, I will take you both to the restaurant but sit at a different table, that should be more comfortable for you both.” She then turns to Kyoko who is too well trained to flinch, but her business smile slid right back on to protect herself. “I will also make sure to come up with a better apology in the future, since I have hurt you so much today. It is wrong to treat a daughter this way, and while you say you don’t have a mother, you do now if you’ll have me. I have only heard good things about you from Hiou and everyone else I have spoken to about you. If you decide to forgive me I would be very happy to have you be part of our family. Please consider it, and don’t feel obligated to join us if you don’t wish to.” She sees the shock on Kyoko’s face for a split second before she slides her face to polite interest instead of what she was actually feeling. Sadly, this has little to do with acting experience and everything to do with reducing the amount of pain she lets others inflict by not letting them know they hit a weak point. The look of begrudging acceptance on Hiou’s face tells her that she isn’t fully forgiven yet, but that he is pleased that she is acting as he had always expected her to. She feels more shame knowing she hurt that poor girl and so deeply disappointed her son when she did.

 

“Thank you, mother, we should go before your name stops holding them inside where they can’t eavesdrop on us. Ane gets enough flack over the silly things the president makes her do…. Especially that uniform. The only good thing about it is you can never lose her in a crowd.” He sees Kyoko scrunch her brow at him and he isn’t sure which thing she will object to first, but he sees an objection coming. He has a sick sort of satisfaction when she opens her mouth to yell at him about his attitude.

 

“Hiou! I know you are at an age where your mouth moves before your brain catches up, but you have been in this business long enough to at least wait till you can’t be over heard before you say dumb things! The president is well liked and influential, my feelings about him aside he is not someone you insult lightly. He may not take it to heart, but others will on his behalf, Maria is one of them. And since she is my little sister, she is your sister as well, so if for no other reason than that please curb your tongue about him. And the other issue is that you really need to be nicer to your mother! She apologized already and let me tell you that is only the 6th or so time in my life someone, especially an adult, has immediately admitted they were wrong and apologized. My family would never and neither will the family that raised me in their stead since they couldn’t show me favoritism in front of the rest of the staff. You mentioned the ryokan before, so I will assume you heard from Her but please don’t think that because I worked there I was an equal. I have not had many experiences in this world, but I can tell you it is rare for anyone with power and influence to publicly admit fault. Take the apology and let it go, she is not being mean now and I don’t think she will be ever again. Please don’t look so smug while I’m yelling at you.” She is so annoyed that the more she tells him off the bigger that smirk gets, she is also confused, but she is going to enjoy being annoyed at her little brother for a bit since it’s the first time.

 

“I’m sorry Ane but I knew you were going to lecture me before you started and all the things you just talked about were on the little list I made in my head that you might want to talk about. It is just very strange how well we know each other even though we only became family recently. You are right though, and I will adjust my behavior, well as much as anyone my age can.” Hiou tells her this as he hugs her then grabs her hand to pull her over to their car. The vultures are descending behind her and they are about to get taken out by his mother, however he knows that would just make Kyoko uncomfortable, so he drags her away quickly.

 

_Later at the restaurant_

 

              “Ok so what did you need to talk to me about Hiou? You even brought me to a place with private tables, so I am going to assume it’s about how to woo her. But I am not sure what exactly you are hoping I will do. Do you want advice, a sounding board, encouragement, your honest odds… what do you need little brother?” Kyoko wastes no time in cutting to the point of this lunch as soon as the sliding doors around their booth are closed, especially since this restaurant in famous for its discretion with famous clients. She sees him start to blush but doesn’t comment on it, she just waits for him to talk.

 

              “Oh right, I have to start this… Ok so I am planning to ask Moko out, but I don’t know when, or how, or if I should even do it. I know she is most likely going to say no, but I don’t know if she is going to avoid me afterwards, and that would be unbearable. I see you giving me that look but I think we both know that someone as concerned with their image as Moko won’t want to be seen dating a child, which is exactly what people would think.” Hiou starts out fairly uncertain, but ends with a calm finality that makes Kyoko surprised that he asked her to come give him advice if this is what he thinks.

 

              “If you think so little of her and your chances then why even ask my advice, especially since I don’t agree with your odds. So, what is it that you really want Hiou? You need to decide that before I can help. You think on that and I will order our drinks.” She doesn’t give him time to respond and simply hits the call button to summon their waiter. She orders some drinks while she sees Hiou thinking very hard about what she just said.

 

_Meanwhile across town at a similar table_

 

              “Ok you both asked me here for advice so unless Yashiro wants to ask out Amamiya-san I can only assume its about Kyoko. Let me say this first, if you are asking me how to tell her no I will deal with the backlash of slapping you in public. So, now that all of that is out of the way what is it you need from me?” Kanae asks all of this with her typical condescending look on her face, and Yashiro can only smirk at her after he gets over the Amamiya jibe.

 

              “I think we both know that Amamiya-san and I are such opposites that we could never work, I am a hopeless romantic and she is a true cynic. And don’t think me saying that means it was a serious consideration, it was just brought up before by a friend at LME since the president was setting you all up.” Yashiro tries not to laugh at the look of shock on Ren’s face, it is so rare to see that yet so fulfilling.

 

              “Um… right… sorry that all took me off guard. I asked Yashiro what I would do if I decided to date Kyoko, which I really want to do. He says he will make plans to deal with all the outside drama that will come from us dating, since it can only be hid for so long and I don’t really want to. Although now that I think of it I am an adult and she is a minor still… shit… could we just use that childhood friends angle?” He turns to ask Yashiro about this since it just occurred to him.

 

              “Yes if you both agree we can use the childhood friends angle, especially since the only person who could try to nay-say that is Sho and he would out himself if he did that.” Yashiro started taking notes in his notebook as they spoke to add that to his list of plans for Sho, then just looked at Ren to signal him to keep talking.

 

              “Sorry Kotonami-san, I got distracted. I haven’t been able to think about this much since I have been trying to catch up on the work I missed, as I am sure you all are as well. So, what I am asking for is this, what would I do if I dated Kyoko. I see that look on your face but just wait and let me finish. I don’t mean what would I do about work or other people, I honestly have no idea what to do on a date with her. How can I ask her out if I can’t even plan an amazing first date? I would be her first everything, and that honestly stresses me out. Not because I somehow think she would be less amazing if she only knew me that way, but because I don’t know how to bridge the gap between where she is starting and where I am. Can you help me figure out what to do, or if there even is anything to do?” Ren knows he is a bit desperate sounding, but they are in a private room at a restaurant know for discretion, so he can’t worry about appearances since he needs her help to win the love of his life. He knows that if he can convince her to help him it will all go much smoother.

 

              Kanae doesn’t know what to say to the look of obvious longing and hope on Ren’s face so she doesn’t comment on that. She decides to focus on how to help her best friend and the man who would become her first boyfriend if she could help him deal with his jitters. “Ok to start off all you had to say was you need help to plan the perfect first date for Kyoko and I would have agreed immediately. And second I know you need help for more than just this date but Yashiro will just have to take notes as we talk, because I can’t cancel on her often without her crying, and I never want to see that again. To start off you need to realize a few things, firstly she will love anything you do that isn’t too expensive. To get away with doing expensive things you will need to make it about you till she gets a little more used to spending that kind of money.Secondly, you need to remember who you are dealing with and don’t over complicate it. You will get further with run of the mill romantic clichés and fairytale elements. A walk thru the city while it’s all lit up, a planetarium, a candlelight dinner you made yourself. I know you can’t cook but you get the idea, also if you just made food like they have in America, the kind that comes in a box with easy to follow instructions or even an easy soup she would be over the moon that you would do all that for her when you wouldn’t even do it for yourself.The third thing is that you need to decide upfront what you will say to others about your relationship, have two options ready, one that is open and one that is close but not quite dating, then choose after you talk to her about both. Be honest if you have a preference, but also be honest about why. She might be new to this herself, but she is smart and quick on her feet, she will find out eventually and you can’t afford to break her trust again.Yashiro do you have all of that or should I repeat something?” She looks at Yashiro and Ren for a moment, Ren still looks slightly shocked, but Yashiro is writing things down like a madman even flipping between pages as things come to him as he writes. “Ok, while you finish that brain storm I am going to call the waiter over and order, Ren do you know what you want? I see that look, don’t think you can get out of eating. She would be so mad at me if I didn’t make you eat lunch while we are here.” Kanae finishes her speech for the moment and calls over the waiter to order while the men think.

 

_Back across town_

 

              “Ok Ane, I know what I want but I also need you to tell me if you think there is any chance of it happening. I want to ask Kotonami out on a date, and maybe to be my girlfriend. But I have no idea if that is even possible with the age and height differences between us, as well as the expectations of our peers. So, what are my chances in your opinion?” Hiou took his time deciding what to ask Kyoko, they just sat quietly sipping drinks and munching on appetizers while he figured it out. Now he knows what he wants but doesn’t know what else to do.

 

              “I’m glad you decided. First off, I think you have better chances than anyone else I know of to get a good answer from her, she really likes you, I am just not 100% sure it is romantic. Before you let that upset you too much remember that Moko likes to keep her emotions to herself, so we don’t talk about her feelings like that really. I really think you should ask her out though, and I will give you any advice you like on how to do it and when, or I can just silently support you. The choice is yours ototo.” Kyoko loves using that title for Hiou since it means she is no longer alone. She is trying to give Hiou space to decide but he just plows ahead.

 

              “I want her, and I want you to help me figure out how to have the best chance. Also do I stay as sempai/kohai on set or do we date openly? What do I do Ane?” Hiou knows the desperation is strong in his voice but he can’t help it now that a chance to win her is so close.

 

              “Take a deep breath ototo. I am not going to run away so you don’t need to rush this conversation. But I will address some of the things you asked, starting with whether or not you should date publicly, and I can only say this; wait and discuss it as a couple when she says yes. That way you both are comfortable with what you do and why, just make sure you are completely honest about what you want and why. You love Moko, so it isn’t like you want someone who will do or think whatever you do so you need to get used to discussing anything important as a couple instead of deciding by yourself. Second thing is how to ask, and I will say one thing is certain, don’t ask in a big public display. That sort of romantic gesture will just feel suffocating to Moko so avoid those.” She sees him relax and let out a breath when she says no public displays and realizes it was bothering him. “If you are worried about what to do or say, I suggest asking her out to eat in a normal way. I would suggest in person, but you can call if you need to. Ask her to dinner or a movie, something that is lowkey but still would be fun for both of you. She isn’t very high maintenance all things considered, so the more down to earth and reasonable things are to start out the better. You can go for big gestures later when you are both more secure in your relationship.” She feels proud of this advice till she sees the slightly pained smirk on Hiou’s face.

 

              “Ane that makes way too much sense… why are you an actor when you can give love advice like this?” Hiou is in awe of how quickly she cut through all his nerves and gave him a clear plan of attack. “Ok all of that is great but what do I say if she says no? I don’t want to give up, but I don’t want to hound her either.” Hiou is still fairly calm but the doubts are creeping back in.

 

              “If she defies logic and says ‘no’, then I will just have to wheedle her till she tells me why and we can adjust our plan of attack, but I think the chances of that are really small. So, my suggestion is that you should try to talk to her in the next couple of days for whatever plan you decide on. That way you know you can get this figured out before the filming of the new drama starts and I have less time to bug her about what she is thinking about things. That way I can help if there is any trouble without you or her feeling like I am risking getting in trouble.” Kyoko hopes that all makes sense to Hiou, but she doesn’t know what else to say that wouldn’t make him nervous.

 

              “Ok I will work on it Ane, but there is one more thing I wanted to tell you since you are working on that new drama of Ogata Sensei’s. Your character Kagome has a younger brother who is a fairly regular companion of both main characters for different reasons, and I was offered the part. Would it be ok with you if I took it?” Hiou asks the question even though her eyes lit up as soon as he mentioned the younger brother, so he is fairly certain of the answer.

 

              “Of COURSE!!!!! Why wouldn’t I want my Ototo to get to play my ototo regularly? I am sure Ren will be happy about it too, since he can ask you questions about me. I see that grimace but you have to realize that my other brother is his manager and best friend, they are closer than Onii-chan and I are. You and I are closer in age and have been friendly for longer, so he will realize that you are a good source of info on me. We both know that the chances of Moko helping them often isn’t good since she doesn’t like extra drama off set. So, if you aren’t ok with him asking things you should probably tell Yukihito so he can head him off at the pass.” Kyoko winks as she says the last part, mostly because it makes Hiou smile so big when she is open about treating him like family. They may not have been family for very long but at least they are both picking it up pretty quick, but she doesn’t think they will avoid the drama and growing pains that normally come with siblings growing up. She is pretty sure that they will do just fine when it does happen though if they all talk to one another.

 

              “Ok Ane, I will decide what I want to ask her out to do. I will tell you what she says but I am not going to tell you anything beforehand. It feels fine to ask for this sort of advice without talking to her, but it feels wrong to talk to you about the date before I talk to her about it. I am pretty sure you won’t mind but I thought I should still tell you.” Hiou smiles as he finishes his sentence, it feels good to have a plan. He is glad he had the courage to ask Kyoko for advice, though he doesn’t feel like he needs to tell her that since he is pretty sure she already knows.

 

              They finish their lunch as they make small talk about their family and about the drama they will both be in. They are fairly certain it will all be smooth sailing for a while, but neither is willing to bet on it since they know have fast it can all go wrong.

 

_Back Across Town_

              “Ok, if you don’t need any more help with that plan then I am going to go. I am going to try and catch Kyoko, so we can hang out, so she doesn’t get too depressed about me canceling. Oh, one more thing, whatever you do don’t hide when something is stressing you out or making you uncomfortable. She can tell when you aren’t being yourself, but she has a really hard time thinking it might be something besides you hating her or being mad at her. She is going to be extra sensitive about you and all your emotions for a while, so try not to worry her by trying to not worry her. Also, it will make you a stronger couple if you can depend on one another.” Kanae says that as she gets up, and smiles at the look of mild panic on Ren’s face. She smirks at Yukihito and then leaves as she messages Kyoko to see if she wants to hang out.

 

              “Ok, I can see the panic on your face Ren but just remember that she knows all your darkest secrets, so it shouldn’t bother her in the least to learn about anything troubling you now. I can also tell you that from what I know of her, she will be really hard on herself if she finds out later that you were worried about something and you didn’t tell her. She may not think it was about her, but she will feel like you aren’t treating her like she is a good partner. She is always going to worry about that I think, just because of her self-worth issues. I think in time she will forget about the damage that idiot did, but the other issues about family and being wanted may always stay.” Yukihito sees Ren thinking about what he said so he just sips his drink while he waits, he doesn’t wait long though before both his phone and Ren’s buzz at the same time. Yukihito puts on his glove and checks the phone, it’s the president saying that Ren’s visitor from the other night is messaging his phone from an unknown number bought by LME, so please answer it.

 

              “Yukihito, I am assuming based on the look on your face that it’s the president and he is explaining why a random number is messaging me. So, if you wouldn’t mind telling me who it is before I open it I would really appreciate it.” Ren knows it will be a stressful message based on his best friends face but he still wasn’t expecting the answer.

 

              “It’s Kyoko’s stage dad and he wants to talk to you; the president has given him an LME number that isn’t linked to anyone’s name, so you can talk to them without worrying about who will track it.” Yukihito isn’t sure this is a good idea, but he will leave it to Ren to decide now that he knows who it is.

 

              “I see, guess I should read it, then shouldn’t I?” Is all Ren says before he opens his phone to speak with his parents for the first time in so long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this took so long to put out. However life sort of imploded for a while, so it couldn't be helped. This fic should be getting updated a little more frequently but I cant promise anything. I can promise that even if there are long pauses and breaks I will always come back to this. I have a ton of ideas, but if there are any scenes or scenarios you would like to see me try and add then let me know. This fic has a definite arc but just like the mangaka I don't want to only focus on the arc, it would get boring to only see tiny snippets of their life spread-out over time.
> 
> As always any constructive critisim is welcome, but please don't just say things like it wasn't good. I cant fix things if no one tells me what was bad. Also I did all the editing on this myself so if you see where I messed up something spelling or grammer wise please let me know.
> 
> Thanks again for coming back to read my inane ramblings and for taking time to read my story.
> 
> -Bree


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